Relief supply to Muslim, Tamil villages in Muttur sabotaged?

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 December 2004, 19:00 GMT]
The relief supply to Tsunami victims in the government controlled Muttur division where majority are Muslims and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam held Muttur east and Eachchilampathu division where majority are Tamils in the down south of Trincomalee district has come to a grinding halt since Friday evening as the only land route Kantalai- Allai road is flooded with spill water of Kantalai tank when the irrigation authorities suddenly opened the spill gates without any prior notice, civil sources said.
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Vadamaradchchi Tsunami victims protest against supplying substandard rice

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 December 2004, 18:56 GMT]
A group of Tsunami victims in Vadamaradchchi north division in Jaffna district Friday held a protest in front of the Point Pedro Divisional Secretariat for supplying dry ration which is reported to be unfit for human consumption. Earlier residents of nearby villages supplied these victims with cooked meals, sources said.
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President Kumaratunga briefs tsunami crisis to Colombo-based diplomats

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 December 2004, 16:44 GMT]
President Kumaratunga Friday met Colombo based diplomats and members of the International Agencies to brief them on the crises faced by Sri Lanka in the aftermath of Sunday's disaster. Commenting on the long term needs of the country she has said that the country "would welcome the assistance of all friendly nations", adding that the damaged road network would be given the first priority followed by telecom, hospitals, schools, housing.
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Fifth Indian Navy ship with relief supply arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 December 2004, 15:39 GMT]
A tanker from the Indian Navy fleet, INS Aditya, arrived in Colombo harbour Friday evening with relief supplies, medical teams and other provisions. This is the fifth Indian naval war ship to arrive in Sri Lanka aftermath of the Sunday's tsunami disaster on immediate rescue and relief operation.
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"Hijacking relief supply to Trincomalee should be stopped"-Elilan

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 December 2004, 15:26 GMT]
A District Task Force (DTF) was established in the Trincomalee district Friday to co-ordinate all relief supplies to victims of Sunday's Tsunami and take steps for the rehabilitation of the coastal areas destroyed in the calamity with the Government Agent Mr.Gamini Rodrigo as its chairman. Mr.S.Elilan, head of the Trincomalee district political secretariat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Major General Sumith Balasuriya, Commanding Officer of Sri Lanka Army for the Trincomalee district and representatives of international and national non-governmental organizations are other members of the DTF, sources said.
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Vadamaradchy East coastal road badly damaged

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 December 2004, 14:58 GMT]
Heavy machinery including bulldozers are required to clear long stretches of Vadamaradchy East coastal road before vehicular traffic can use the road, said Sea Tiger Commander Mangales who is coordinating the Sea Tigers rescue operations in Vadamaradchy east. Two battalions of Sea Tigers are deployed in rescue and relief effort in Vadamaradchy and Mullaitivu, sources close to the relief operations said.
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Tsunami destroyed 271 schools in North East

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 December 2004, 11:56 GMT]
Two hundred and seventy one schools in the northeast coastal areas have been destroyed or damaged in the Sunday's Tsunami, said North East Provincial Education Ministry Secretary Mr.Thiagalinkam in a report to the Provincial Ministry for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction.
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‘Tamils in northeast are also human beings’- LTTE commander

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 December 2004, 01:25 GMT]
“The Sri Lankan government should not look at this as a Sinhala or Tamil issue. It should see it as a human tragedy and help. We should now ensure that the people rescued from the Tsunami devastation are protected from diseases rather than let the enormity of the tragedy make us inactive. The government of Sri Lanka should consider our people also as human beings," said Col. Soosai, Commander of the Sea Tigers who is directing rescue and relief operations on the southern coast of Jaffna and in Mullaithivu, said in an interview to a London Tamil Television, Deepam TV, Wednesday.
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Cut red tape to deliver urgent aid- LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 December 2004, 18:28 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers Thursday said that red tape should not impede or delay delivery of urgent international aid to the Tsunami hit areas of the northeast. Addressing representatives of international aid agencies and donor community in Kilinochchi Thursday, Mr. Thamilchelvan emphasised that the international community has a "moral responsibility" to ensure that humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka is "equitably distributed to the North-East". LTTE's Political Head stated clearly that the immediate relief measures would be best undertaken by the Task Force mechanism already set up at district level by the LTTE in coordination with the Government Agents of the affected districts.
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Palmyrah frond edges said main cause of cut injuries

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 December 2004, 16:05 GMT]
Razor-sharp edges of the ubiquitous palmyrah frond found in the NorthEast are said to be the main cause of injuries suffered by the coastal area residents who were severely injured by the rushing tsunami waters inland in areas of NorthEast. In Jaffna, the injuries were mainly caused by collapsed buildings and other structures, sources engaged in relief operations said.
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Starvation, disease more deadly than danger from mines- TRO

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 December 2004, 13:37 GMT]
Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) appealed to other relief help organizations not to be daunted by the threat due to mines and not to delay relief coming to the most needed areas. TRO, in a press release said it considers “that dangers caused by free floating mines are far less significant when compared to the dangers of death by starvation and disease.” TRO urged the relief agencies to keep sending relief supplies to all areas. "In Mulliyavalai and Puthukkudiyiruppu areas UNHCR and ICRC are fully engaged in relief effort," TamilNet correspondent, said, assuring other agencies still unwilling to enter difficult areas.
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Colonel Sornam visits army-controlled areas in Trinco

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 December 2004, 13:29 GMT]
Colonel Sornam, Trincomalee district military commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Thursday visited Tsunami victims given shelter in several camps in the Sri Lanka Army controlled areas in the Trincomalee town and villages in the north of the district.
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Irate Tsunami refugees jeer PM, JVP in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 December 2004, 13:04 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksha and leaders of the Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna visited Jaffna Thursday amidst strong protests by refugees from the Tsunami destroyed coastal villages of the peninsula. Jeering refugees, demanding relief from Colombo, got into a tussle with the PM’s delegation at the Puloly American Mission School near Pt. Pedro. Earlier, the PM and his entourage were turned back by refugees in Valvettithurai protesting against Colombo for not sending relief or medicine to them since the Tsunami devastated their villages four days ago.
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US Military advance planning teams arrive in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 December 2004, 12:08 GMT]
Advance teams for the US Military's disaster relief response arrived in Colombo Thursday to begin assessment efforts and plan humanitarian aid operations to Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
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Bush telephones Ms Kumaratunge to express shock, concern

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 December 2004, 11:22 GMT]
US President George W. Bush has telephoned President Chandrika Kumaratunga Wednesday and conveyed his shock and concern at the disaster wrought by the tsunamis in Sri Lanka, a statement from the President's office said Thursday. The US President has also inquired as to how the US could be of assistance.
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TRO Provides Relief To Tsunami Victims: Urgent Need for Nurses

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 December 2004, 11:20 GMT]
Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), a non-governmental organization from Sri Lanka, has fully geared its administrative machinery to provide relief assistance to victims of all communities - Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese - in the northeast province. Nearly twenty thousand died and about five hundred thousand were displaced in Sunday's tsunami.
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Thamilchelvan stresses urgent needs to Norway, international NGOs

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 December 2004, 10:38 GMT]
Mr. Thamilchelvan, Head of the LTTE Political Wing, met with representatives of more than 60 international and UN aid agencies in Kilinochchi at 11.30 am Thursday. The urgent needs of the NorthEast, caused by the tsunami which struck the coast on Sunday, were explained to the representatives. He stated both the immediate needs of those affected by the tsunami and their more intermediate needs. He explained that whatever little infrastructure has been built up was damaged or destroyed by the tsunami, sources in Kilinochchi told TamilNet. Further details of the meeting are yet to be disclosed.
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Kumaratunga bans house construction close to sea coast

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 December 2004, 10:03 GMT]
Visiting the tsunami hit areas in the Southern Province, President Chandrika Kumaratunga said Wednesday that "in the future as a safety measure construction of houses would not be allowed in areas close to the sea coast."
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Integrate psychological counseling with relief effort- Prof Somasundaram

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 December 2004, 08:30 GMT]
The display of syndrome of illnesses related to disaster and intense mental compression are well known occurrences amongst people affected by natural calamity, says Prof. Daya Somasundaram, a specialist in psychiatry attached to the Mental Health Division of the Jaffna Teaching Hospital. Staff in Dr Somasundaram's group offer services to assist people affected by mental trauma due to natural calamities.
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Hundred Americans said missing after Sri Lanka Tsunami

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 December 2004, 06:49 GMT]
US officials said Thursday that seven American citizens have been been reported dead in the Tsunami. They said hundred Americans are still unaccounted for. Thousands of foreign tourists were in Sri Lanka's southern coast when the Tsunami struck. Many are dead or are reported missing.
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Fresh tsunami alert issued in Tamil Nadu, India

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 December 2004, 06:49 GMT]
A new tsunami alert is issued by Indian authorites, according to South Indian radio stations monitored in Colombo. Residents along the coastal line in Colombo are seen fleeing. Meanwhile, Rediff.com, an Indian online media quoted Commodre Salil Mehta, spokesman of Indian armed forces as saying: "We are on high alert. There is a warning of tsunami and earthquake today (Thursday)". Sri Lankan authorities will not be putting out a warning, government sources in Colombo said.
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Still no government relief to North-East - Paper

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 December 2004, 05:17 GMT]
Three days after the tsunami struck on Sunday, no relief from the Sri Lankan government has yet reached the North-East, said the Jaffna-based Tamil language daily, Uthayan, in its editorial Wednesday.
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Batticaloa refugees face epidemic hazard

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 December 2004, 03:47 GMT]
More than forty thousand people who lost their homes and belongings in the Batticaloa district have found refuge in ninety four shelters – public buildings, schools and some places of worship, according to statistics released Wednesday by the Emergency Disaster Data Collection Centre set up by the Liberation Tigers for aiding relief and rescue work in the Tsunami devastated region. “We are struggling desperately to provide clean water, clothing and sanitation to these refugees”, said Mr. E. Kousalyan, head of the LTTE political division for Batticaloa-Amparai.
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Authorities Hinder Help to Tsunami Affected Regions

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 December 2004, 23:27 GMT]
Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) faces difficulties in conducting relief operations in the eastern district of Sri Lanka. Divisions of the Sri Lanka army and police as well as Sinhalese groups stop trucks with aid cargo at Habarana junction, which links Amparai, Batticaloa and Trincomalee districts, and divert them to the south saying that the three eastern districts do not need more aid.
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One of world’s best surfing locations wiped out

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 December 2004, 21:23 GMT]
Arugambay, an idyllic place by the sea on Sri Lanka’s southeast coast, is one of the ten best surfing locations in the world. Nothing is left of Arugambay now. The once busy tourist area is littered with corpses and debris. Surrounded by the Pottuvil lagoon and the sea, most of Arugambay was not only obliterated but was marooned by the Tsunami.
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Kilinochchi sends relief, medicine, doctors to Amparai

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 December 2004, 19:36 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers sent six lorries from Kilinochchi with emergency supplies and a lorry load of medicine along with fifty doctors for relief operations on the Tsunami devastated Amparai coast. The death toll in the coastal areas of the Amparai district rose steeply Wednesday as rescue workers retrieved more putrefying bodies from villages destroyed by the Tsunami. “Three of our teams are working round the clock in rescue and relief operations here”, said Mr. Ram, a Liberation Tigers commander speaking to TamilNet from a coastal village in Amparai Wednesday.
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Pirapaharan appeals for international assistance

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 December 2004, 14:09 GMT]
Mr. Velupillai Pirapaharan, leader of the Liberation Tigers, Wednesday appealed to the international community and the United Nations to generously assist the people of the northeast devasted by the Tsunami. "I express my deepest sympathies and condolences to my people who lost their kith and kin in this disaster. I also extend my deepest sympathies and condolences to our Muslim and Sinhala brethren in the south who were affected by the Tsunami", he said in a statement issued in Tamil by the headquarters of the LTTE.
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Judge tells coroners to expedite processing death certificates

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 December 2004, 13:56 GMT]
Vavuniya district Judge Mr M Ilancheliyan Wednesday directed the coroners from Vavuniya, Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi districts to expeditiously process the identification details of those whose bodies have been identified in the aftermath of the tsunami incident, and to issue the death certificates to the relatives without any delay, legal sources from Vavuniya said.
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Harim Peiris, UPFA Minister visit Jaffna to view damages

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 December 2004, 12:18 GMT]
Mr.Harim Peiris, Presidential Advisor, accompanied by Mr.D.E.W.Gunasekara, Constitutional Affairs and National Integration Minister in the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, arrived in Jaffna Wednesday to see the devastation of the Jaffna peninsula after Sunday's Tsunami, political sources in Jaffna said.
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Latest Tsunami toll: 18,000 dead, 10,000 missing, 500,000 displaced

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 December 2004, 10:24 GMT]
Latest figures gathered by TamilNet from Sri Lanka Government sources indicate a casualty figures of 18,000 dead, 10,000 still missing and 500,000 displaced in the worst ever disaster Sri Lanka has encountered by the tsunami waves that hit the island Sunday morning.
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More than thirteen thousand dead in Amparai coastal villages

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 December 2004, 08:51 GMT]
Thirteen thousand two hundred and sixty one persons, in the Tamil and Muslim villages and towns along Sri Lanka's southeastern coast, have been officially registered as dead, according to the Government Agent in Amparai District. He said about 9000 bodies were recovered from the tsunami hit villages until Tuesday night. The enormity of the tragedy here did not come to light because the attention of the Sri Lankan government and international media were largely focussed on death and destruction along the western and southern coasts which are easily accessiblefrom Colombo.
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NGO's Consortium to co-ordinate relief work in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 December 2004, 06:14 GMT]
The Trincomalee District Consortium of Non-Governmental Organizations (TDCNGO) has established an Operation Room in its office working round the clock to channel the distribution of relief materials brought to the east port town in lorries by several welfare and humanitarian organizations from other parts of the country to Tsunami victims following complaints that such assistance arriving are diverted by parties with vested interests in a haphazard manner not reaching the needy in remote areas, sources said.
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More bodies recovered in Manatkadu village

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 December 2004, 03:38 GMT]
One hundred more bodies of Tsunami victims were recovered at government controlled Manatkadu village in the Vadamaradchchi east division in Jaffna district till Tuesday evening. Search operation for missing persons feared to be dead is continuing. The number of deaths in this area has exceeded two thousand in the LTTE controlled Vadamaradchchi east division. Manatkadu comes under the government controlled area, civil sources said.
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Austrian doctors assist Trinco relief effort

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 December 2004, 21:42 GMT]
A medical team from Austrian Disaster and Assistance Team arrived in Trincomalee Tuesday at the request of Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRC) National Secretariat, SLRC sources in Trincomalee said. The Austrian team went to Kinniya, where the government hospital was completely destroyed in Sunday Tsunami, to provide medical help with the assistance of SLRC volunteers at a makeshift hospital at Kinniya Central College, SLRC sources said.
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Mullaithivu situation grim amid rising toll

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 December 2004, 20:42 GMT]
Three thousand three hundred and seventy three people were killed by the Tsunami in Mullaithivu according to local rescue workers and the Liberation Tigers. Kallapaadu, a coastal village near Mullaithivu town, was completely wiped out by the Tsunami. "So far we have been able to recover 1300 of the 2214 who resettled in village after the Sri Lanka army garrison there was overrun in 1996", said Mr. S. Senthan, the village officer (Grama Sevaka) for Kallapaadu told TamilNet Tuesday.
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Galle, Matara, Hambantota: 4000 dead, 8000 missing

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 December 2004, 20:41 GMT]
Tsunami death toll in Galle now stands at 2600 with 3000 still missing, in Matara the death toll is 850 and 4000 are listed missing, and in Hambantota 1100 bodies have been recovered and about 1000 are still missing, official sources in Colombo said.
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NorthEast death toll nears 10,000, Amparai badly hit

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 December 2004, 15:07 GMT]
"More than 10,000 people are dead in areas across NorthEast. In Amparai alone there were 5350 dead," said Liberation Tigers, Tuesday afternoon. Cadres of Liberation Tigers and local non-Governmental organizations are working round the clock to provide rescue and relief effort to people in Mullaitivu, said Col.Soosai, Head of the Sea Tiger Wing of the Liberation Tigers. "No international aid from Donor agencies have reached Vanni, and we are using our own resources and assistance provided by the expatriate Tamils which is beginning to reach us," Soosai added.
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First Taskforce Unit meets in Puthukkadu

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 December 2004, 14:00 GMT]
One of the units of the Disaster Management Taskforce setup by the Head of the Political Wing of the LTTE, S.P.Thamilchelvan, met Tuesaday at 9.15am at its new offices in Puthukkadu juncion on A9 near Thalaiyady, Vadamaradchy East, Sudar, an official with the LTTE Peace Secretariat told TamilNet. S.Thangan, Deputy Head of LTTE Political Wing, presided the meeting.
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TRO lists immediate relief needs

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 December 2004, 11:17 GMT]
Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) has released a list of immediate requirements in an urgent appeal to the International Community. The full extent of the tragedy is still being counted and there is widespread view that the initial impact is only the beginning of a major tragedy to unfold in the near future due to disease and starvation, TRO said in an it's appeal to the International Community. The loss of lives and properties and the destruction of physical and social infrastructure have thrown a major humanitarian challenge, TRO said.
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Six thousand said missing in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 December 2004, 10:35 GMT]
More than 54,000 families have been displaced in the Batticaloa-Amparai districts due to the tidal wave that struck the North-East coast two days ago. Information is meagre with little improvement in the telephone service. TRO sources said that around six thousand are missing. The displaced are temporarily accommodated in welfare centers located in schools and public buildings.
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Landmines fear hampers rescue work in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 December 2004, 09:31 GMT]
Five villages Devastated by Saturday's Tsunami are marooned as causeways and bridges have been damaged by the tidal waves. "The newly built government hospital, public buildings, schools, LTTE political offices, homes, churches and temples have been completely destroyed by the sea," Mr. S. Jeyanandamoorthy, Tamil National Alliance MP for Batticaloa, told TamilNet Tuesday. He said that relief and rescue work in the former popular tourist resorts of Pasikudah and Kalkudah has been hindered by thousands of landmines uprooted by the Tsunami from the defenses of the local SLA garrison.
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Dispute over power sharing must not impede the relief efforts - NPC

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 December 2004, 01:45 GMT]
Noting that there is an immense human tragedy with villages swept away without trace and thousands of deaths in LTTE-controlled areas, the National Peace Council (NPC), a Colombo based Sri Lankan peace group, in a media release issued in Colombo Tuesday said that it is important that the LTTE be brought in as a major actor if any major relief effort is meant to cover all affected areas in the north east. NPC appealed to the government and the LTTE to trust and respect each other's commitment to the best interests of the people they both seek to serve.
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8000 dead in northeast, 500 000 displaced, TRO appeals for help

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 December 2004, 20:35 GMT]
"8000 dead and 500,000 displaced in northeast of the Island of Sri Lanka", said The Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) in an urgent appeal to Tamil diaspora Monday evening. "Beaches are strewn with debris and waste. Whole villages have been turned into cemeteries. Over 8000 have lost their lives in the northeast. More than 500,000 have been displaced from their homes and left without shelter", said the release and called upon the Tamil diaspora to urgently seek humanitarian assistance from governmental and non governmental aid agencies in their host countries.
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Tamil MP slams Colombo for ignoring Northeast plight

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 December 2004, 19:37 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Monday slammed the Sri Lankan government and Sinhala parties in Parliament for "callously ignoring the plight of thousands in the northeast hit by Saturday's Tsunami. Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, senior TNA MP who took part in a conference Monday on urgent disaster management convened by Sri Lanka's Prime Minister told that the nonchalant attitude of the government and Sinhala parties towards the suffering in the Northeast is "appalling".
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Disaster Management Task Force Units setup in Northeast

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 December 2004, 18:09 GMT]
Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, Head of the LTTE Political Wing in an urgent meeting with the International NGOs, District Secretaries, TRO officials and local NGOs requested to set up a North-East Disaster Management Steering Committee and Special Task Force Units consisting of the District Secretaries, INGO’s, TRO,local NGO’s and representatives of the Planning and Development Secretariat of the LTTE. Similar mechanisms for the districts of Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Amparai have also been planned and details would be worked out in the respective districts soon, an LTTE news release said.
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Five thousand dead in Kalmunai, urgent appeal for medicine

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 December 2004, 17:35 GMT]
More than five thousand seven hundred people were killed by the Tsunami waves along the Amparai coast, officials at the Department of Social Services said Monday. However, Dr. Murugesapillai Baghavan, surgeon at the Kalmunai Base Hospital said that at least five thousand bodies of people killed by the Tsunami have been buried in Paandiruppu, Kalmunaikudi, Maalikaikaddu and Karaithivu alone. “We have not received any assistance so far to cope with this disaster. Please get us antibiotics, Anti-tetanus, toxides, infant food, any type of clothing. This is very urgent”, the doctor appealed.
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Governor meets NEPC officials on relief work

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 December 2004, 16:30 GMT]
Mr.Tyronne Fernando, North East Provincial Governor Monday issued directive empowering all Deputy Provincial Directors of Health Services (DPDHS) in the districts of Northeastern Province to purchase medicines urgently needed to treat Tsunami victims without waiting for the drugs from central supply store of the Health Ministry, NEPC sources said. The conference held by Mr.Tyronne Fernando was abandoned in half way when he was informed of another Tsunami wave was to hit coastal area. Discussions came to an abrupt end when Mr.Tyronne Fernando left the conference hall suddenly, sources said.
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External aid yet to reach Vanni, 3 000 still missing in Mullaitivu

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 December 2004, 15:49 GMT]
No external aid was received until Monday afternoon to assist thousands of people injured and rendered homeless by the Tsunami in the coastal parts of the Vanni region and Southern Jaffna, a spokesman for the Tamils’ Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) said. The Political Division of the Liberation Tigers convened an urgent meeting on Monday with international NGOs, local aid agencies and senior officials to assess the magnitude of the humanitarian crisis and to organize and enhance urgent relief and rescue measures in the Tsunami hit areas.
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Mullaithivu, Jaffna South coast devastation said dire

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 December 2004, 15:08 GMT]
Mullaithivu, the main coastal town of the Vanni region has been completely destroyed by the Tsunami. Liberation Tigers and local rescue workers are continuing to search for bodies of people killed along this coast. Eight villages have been totally devastated by the tidal wave. Thousands are still unaccounted for, according to the TamilNet correspondent who visited the area Monday. Public building, homes and schools along the coasts of Mullaithivu and Jaffna South have been completely destroyed by the wave.
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More than 10000 killed in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 December 2004, 08:24 GMT]
Government sources said more than 10000 people are killed in Sri Lanka. Rescue workers believe that the death toll in the Northeast region alone could be more than 6000. The number of people swept away would be much higher than earlier anticipated in the region, rescue workers say. Massive relief efforts have been launched. Infrastructure constraints and damaged highways make the rescue work difficult.
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Eyewitness says little could have escaped wave

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 December 2004, 21:29 GMT]
“We went from the hospital to retrieve some bodies of people killed by the first wave near the Pandiruppu beach. We saw at a distance another massive wave, more than hundred feet high, speeding towards Kalmunaikudi. It was like a diagonal wall rising out of the sea. The sight was terrible. We ran for our lives. I do not believe that anything could have survived the force of that wave”, said a doctor at the Kalmunai base hospital Monday.
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Wave toll increases in NorthEast

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 December 2004, 21:19 GMT]
More than 1000 people feared dead in Batticaloa district and around 800 are feared dead in Trincomalee, civil sources in the east said. TRO sources in Kilinochchi said that they feared around 2000 were dead in Mullaitivu district and around 1000 in Jaffna district. 500 bodies have been placed in Thalaiadi hospital in Jaffna's southeastern coast, and 75 bodies have been taken to Kilinochchi hospital. TRO volunteers are searching for bodies under debris of destroyed buildings.
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Large number killed by Tsunami said children

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 December 2004, 19:04 GMT]
A large number of children were killed by Tsunami waves in Sri Lankaís northeast, rescue workers and local journalists said. Thousands of children have been wounded in the floods and are still without access to first aid, they said. Lack of transport and roads destroyed by the monster waves are slowing rescue work in Mullaithivu, Mutur, Batticaloa and Amparai, according to aid workers.
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Tsunami death toll expected to increase

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 December 2004, 17:10 GMT]
Around 3100 persons in Northeast and 1400 in South have died due to tsunami waves that hit NorthEast coast Sunday, according to government sources in Colombo. In the Northeast alone, nearly 12000 people have suffered injuries and around 200,000 people have been affected, administrative sources in Colombo said. Government sources added that death toll is expected to rise significantly. In the meantime, Tamil National Alliance (TNA)parliamentarian Mr. Joseph Pararajasingam has urged the Prime Minister Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksha, to attend to immediate needs of the affected public in the east.
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LTTE appeals for International Assistance

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 December 2004, 17:00 GMT]
The political wing of the Liberation Tigers appealed for international assistance in providing relief to the people affected by the tsunami waves Sunday. "We appeal to the international community to provide the wherewithal to meet with the exigencies and to avoid a humanitarian crisis. The human disaster and the tragedy the survivors face are unprecedented and need immediate and effective humanitarian intervention. We therefore solicit the support of the Donor nations, UN agencies and INGOs to consolidate their efforts and ensure that the assistance reach the needy in time," the appeal said.
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LTTE to declare National Emergency

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 December 2004, 14:34 GMT]
To cope with the unprecedented destruction of life and property in the coastal areas of NorthEast brought about by the tsunamic waves that hit the coastal towns Sunday, the Liberation Tigers are planning to declare National Emergency to set up procedures in motion to obtain relief assistance from International Agencies, sources close to the LTTE in Vanni said.
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TRO appeals for urgent assistance

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 December 2004, 12:50 GMT]
Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), an independent Non-Governmental Organization registered with Government of Sri Lanka, appealed to the Tamil expatriates Sunday to donate towards meeting the humanitarian crisis unfolding following the tsunami wave triggered flooding in residential areas along the eastern coast of Sri Lanka. Majority of families affected were from the NorthEast of Sri Lanka.
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More than 1000 feared killed in Mullaitivu coastal villages

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 December 2004, 12:42 GMT]
Coastal villages of Koyilkudiyiruppu, Mullivaykal, Kallappadu, Silavaththai, Alampil, and Unnappuluvu in Mullaitivu district were severely hit by the tidal waves and the volunteers who entered the villages for rescue operations told TamilNet that more than 90% of residents in many of the villages have gone missing. Rescue workers said that more than 1000 people are dead in the villages along the Mullaitivu coast.
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Tsunami official death toll hits 5000

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 December 2004, 08:56 GMT]
Official death toll from the Tsunami waves that hit northeastern and southern coast of Sri Lanka Sunday morning was increased to 5000, Sri Lankan Defence Ministry sources told TamilNet. Government officials in the devastated eastern town Batticaloa said only about twenty five of more than thousand families in Navalady, a coastal suburb of Batticaloa, appear to have survived the massive waves.
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At least 500 feared killed by Tsunami waves in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 December 2004, 04:12 GMT]
At least five hundred people are feared killed as fierce waves from the sea hit Sri Lanka' eastern and southern coasts Sunday morning. Initial reports from the east said that many coastal villages of the Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Amparai districts were hit by powerful tidal waves causing extensive destruction as thousands of homes were covered by rising sea waters. Around 25 villages are reported to have been swept off by the tidal waves of the Tsunami.
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Student leader decries Colombo's military buildup

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 December 2004, 21:00 GMT]
"The Government of Sri Lanka is strengthening its military in preparation for renewed hostilities. The Liberation Tigers are ready to confront war if it is thrust on us and are prepared to liberate the occupied lands and people," said Mr Subash, Vavuniya district president of Consortium of Tamileelam students, addressing the audience in a book release ceremony held at the Muthaiah Hall in Vavuniya Friday afternoon, sources from Vavuniya said.
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South gambles with Sri Lanka's destiny- NLF

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 December 2004, 11:40 GMT]
"The most urgent need today is not to cave in to the antics of the [Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna] JVP," said Mr. Thirunavukarasu, polit bureau member of the New Left Front (NLF) Saturday, political sources in Colombo said. He noted that the deadlock reached in the peace process is not of recent origin, but represents the "cumulative effect of the manner in which the ruling classes have handled the Tamil National issue since the 1950s" and said that the time has come for the two main parties to "shed their predilection just for power and one-upmanship."
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NorthEast Bishops appeal for permanent peace

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 December 2004, 06:09 GMT]
Bishops of Jaffna, Trincomalee-Batticaloa and Mannar Dioceses Bishop Thomas Soundaranayagam, Bishop Dr. Kingsely Swampillai and Bishop Rayappu Joseph in their Christmas Messages appealed to all communities, the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers to work hard to sustain the ceasefire agreement and to ensure permanent peace.
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Interactive learning method for students in NE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 December 2004, 00:08 GMT]
North East Provincial Ministry of Education has introduced a new learning technique to Tamil medium GCE ordinary level students through Compact Disc (CD) prepared based on school syllabus in Electronics, Botany, Mathematics and Science. These CDs could be purchased by students from their schools and zonal education offices, education sources said.
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"Talks on ISGA should start first"- UPFA Minister

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 December 2004, 00:04 GMT]
"Peace talks based on the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals should start first and both sides should try to resolve their differences across the negotiating table," said Mr.D.E.W.Gunasekara, Constitutional Affairs and National Integration Minister in the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government addressing a meeting held at Kandy D S Senanayake Library Auditorium Thursday to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of the late Dr. N.M. Perera, leader of the Lanka Sama Samaja party (LSSP).
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Jaffna mothers protest over LAF inaction

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 December 2004, 14:13 GMT]
Members of the Jaffna Mothers Front and Association of Guardians of Disappeared Persons in Jaffna District held a protest Friday from morning till two p.m. in front of the office of the Legal Aid Foundation (LAF) which is located next to the Jaffna Magistrate Court expressing their deep regret for the inaction of the LAF for not providing legal assistance to pursue their Habeas Corpus applications in law courts in Jaffna against army officials in connection with several youths and girls who were reported missing after the arrest by the government troops during 1996-1997 period.
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TNA condoles Narasimha Rao death

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 December 2004, 14:05 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Friday expressed grief over the demise of Shri P.V.Narasimha Rao, former Prime Minister of India. Shri Narasimha Rao died Thursday in New Delhi in India at the age of 83 following a heart attack.
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SLA conditions delay school reconstruction in Jaffna HSZ

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 December 2004, 13:13 GMT]
The rehabilitation of war destroyed schools which are located inside the high security zones in Jaffna district are getting delayed due to stringent conditions of the Sri Lanka Army in transporting materials to sites of reconstruction. Hence the contractors are fighting to keep the deadline, education sources said.
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Kodikamam residents hold human chain agitation

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 December 2004, 12:53 GMT]
Several hundreds of Tamil civilians Friday participated in the third phase human chain protest held at Kodikamam junction in Thenmaradchchi division in Jaffna district urging the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) to resume peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) without any more delay, sources said.
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LTTE calls for clear, well defined agenda for talks

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 December 2004, 12:34 GMT]
The LTTE leadership, in an official response to the fresh agenda proposed by the Sri Lanka government, has called for a clear, coherent, well defined agenda for peace talks. The Tamil Tiger leaders have also expressed their disapproval to the structure and content of the government’s agenda because of its vagueness and ambiguity.
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NGOs condemn U.S. military analysts’ visit to Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 December 2004, 04:25 GMT]
Several people’s organizations in the Jaffna district have strongly condemned what they said was a secret visit by a group of U.S. military analysts to Jaffna with Sri Lanka's Army to study the security situation of SLA's frontline positions in the district. The organizations have sent letters to register their protest to the U.S. Embassy in Colombo and other international organizations, according to media reports in Sri Lanka and in the North-East.
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New GoSL 'agenda' for talks with LTTE called smokescreen

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 December 2004, 02:18 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s President Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga’s claims of a ‘new agenda’ for the resumption of peace talks with the Liberation Tigers through the Norwegian facilitators must be viewed in the context of the hurdle she faces in winning a two-thirds majority in parliament for the constitutional changes to abolish the executive presidency that she plans to table in January 2005, said the Jaffna-based Tamil language daily, Uthayan, in its editorial Wednesday.
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NGOs propose election reforms in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 December 2004, 22:51 GMT]
Three Colombo-based NGOs, The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV), and the People Action for Free and Fair Elections(PAFFREL), proposed a set of Election reforms in Sri Lanka after long discusiions on Wednesday, sources in Colombo said.
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Muttur flood victims without adequate aid

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 December 2004, 11:23 GMT]
The government in providing immediate flood relief has ignored several hundreds of victims in Muttur-Eachchilampathu division in Trincomalee district where more than three thousand families are displaced and over twenty villages were flooded not by torrential rain but with spill water of Minneriya tank, humanitarian groups in the district complained to civil authorities.
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WB funded NEHRC to be implemented from January

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 December 2004, 11:21 GMT]
Mr.Chelliah Pathmanathan has been appointed as the Project Director of the World Bank funded North East Housing Reconstruction Programme (NEHRP) with effect from January 1st, 2005. Currently he is holding the post of Government Agent of the Jaffna district. Mr.R.Ganesh, the incumbent Vavuniya Government Agent is to succeed Mr.Pathmanathan in Jaffna district, district secretariat sources said.
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Japanese poltician to visit Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 December 2004, 05:39 GMT]
Mr.Keishiro Fukushima, Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Japan, will be in Sri Lanka on a four day visit from 25th to 28th December 2004. Mr. Fukushima is a member of the House of Councillors under the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), a press release by the Japanese Embassy in Colombo said Wednesday.
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Dhanapala visits Amparai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 December 2004, 05:33 GMT]
Mr.Jayantha Dhanapala, Secretary General of Sri Lanka's Peace Secretariat and Senior Advisor to Sri Lanka's President, visited Ampara on Wednesday "in pursuance of a policy of visiting the six district offices of the SLMM for the purpose of ensuring the smooth implementation of the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA)," a media release from the Secretariat said Wednesday.
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"Army harasses LTTE political activists in Trinco" - Elilan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 December 2004, 20:54 GMT]
"Sri Lankan Army soldiers are engaged in a planned way to disrupt our political activities in the Trincomalee district", Trincomalee district political head of the LTTE, Mr. S. Elilan, told TamilNet Wednesday from Eachchilampathu by telephone. He said that he and his group were delayed more than three hours at the Kaddaiparichchan Sri Lankan Army (SLA) checkpoint when they were on their way to LTTE controlled Muttur east Saturday. They were again stopped at Mahinthapura SLA checkpoint Wednesday, he said.
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SL President leaves for UK

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 December 2004, 19:10 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge left for United Kingdom Wednesday after noon on a private visit, Presidential secretariat sources said.
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LTTE cadre killed in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 December 2004, 14:32 GMT]
An LTTE cadre riding in a motorbike was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen at Pioneer Road close to Arasady Junction in Batticaloa Wednesday around 1.00 PM. The gunmen were also riding in a motobike, Police said. The incident took place 50 meters from a high security Police post. LTTE's former Head of Political division in Batticaloa, Mr. Senathy was shot at the same spot in July.
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Jaffna IDPs appeal to LTTE for their resettlement

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 December 2004, 14:25 GMT]
A group of representatives representing hundreds of thousands of internally displaced families (IDP) due to the occupation of their houses and agricultural lands in Jaffna district by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Wednesday met with Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Killinochchi and explained their plight for the last fifteen years, sources in Kilinochchi said.
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Award to arrest culprits in Bollywood grenade attack

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 December 2004, 12:15 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Police Wednesday announced an award of 20 million Sri Lankan rupees for informants who give lead to the arrest of the main culprit in the Bollywood grenade attack that killed two persons and injured several while the concert of a Indian troupe led by actor Sharuk Khan was in progress in Colombo Race Course grounds on December 11th Saturday night, sources said.
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Sri Lankan medical officers report "sick" to win demands

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 December 2004, 11:32 GMT]
About 1,500 Registered Medical Officers (RMO) and Assistant Medical Officers (AMO) working in 956 government hospitals reported sick Wednesday morning demanding that their salary anomalies should be rectified immediately. The strike severely disrupted the health services in the rural areas as majority of RMOs and AMOs are working peripheral medical institutions, trade union sources said.
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Human-chain protest held in Kaithady

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 December 2004, 11:17 GMT]
The second phase of the human chain demonstration was held Wednesday morning at Kaithady in Thenmaradchchi division in Jaffna district demanding the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) to resume peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the basis of the Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals of the latter. Traffic through A9 highway was not obstructed. Soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) who are located in sentries in the vicinity were withdrawn during the period of agitation. Policemen were deployed at the site to maintain law and order.
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US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission visits Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 December 2004, 19:30 GMT]
"Every one in Sri Lanka should work hard to see that the ceasefire now in force is not broken. People must ensure that war is past," said Mr.James F.Entwistle, Deputy Chief of Mission at the United States Embassy in Sri Lanka Tuesday addressing meetings in Trincomalee and Namalwatte in Morawewa division in the Trincomalee district. Mr.Entwistle visited six projects funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which ranged from a vocational training centre to programs that provide water to formerly displaced persons.
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PNM wants CFA annulled

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 December 2004, 16:54 GMT]
The Patriotic National Movement (PNM), a sinhala nationalist organization, decided at its 19th annual convention of its branches, to annul the ceasefire agreement (CFA) and to remove Norway from its facilitation role in the peace talks, political sources in Colombo said. PNM further decided that peace talks should not resume on the basis of the Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals of the LTTE. The convention was held Tuesday evening at the Colombo Town hall.
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UNP's protest campaign draws 30 000 protestors in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 December 2004, 16:48 GMT]
Around thirty thousand protestors joined in a big protest rally organized by the main opposition United National Party (UNP) in Colombo Tuesday, demanding the release of Mr.S.B.Dissanayake, a UNP parliamentarian who was sentenced to two years rigorous imprisonment by the Supreme Court recently, on being found guilty on contempt charge.
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Eeachilampathu villagers without food, medicine - Trinco MP

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 December 2004, 16:43 GMT]
Trincomalee district parliamentarian Mr.K.Thurairatnasingham who has been visiting flood stricken Eachchilampathu division in Muttur area, down south of Trincomalee district told TamilNet by telephone Tuesday night that all roads connecting more than twenty villages have been washed away by the spill water flood and villagers are using plastic boats and catamarans to travel from one village to another.
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LTTE leadership studies fresh government agenda for talks

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 December 2004, 15:41 GMT]
The leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is studying fresh Sri Lankan government agenda for future talks, Mr. Anton Balasingham, the movement’s chief negotiator and political strategist told TamilNet Tuesday.
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Falk Rovik didn't represent Amnesty - Amnesty Norway

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 December 2004, 11:51 GMT]
Head of Information at Amnesty International Norway, Mr. John P. Egenæs , earlier on Tuesday, denied that a controversial Norwegian called Falk Rovik had represented his organisation at a conference held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo on Saturday, 18 November 2004. The conference was organised by hard-line forces in southern Sri Lanka opposed to the Norwegian facilitation of the peace process. Mr. Egenæs told TamilNet that the controversial Norwegian neither is, nor has ever been a spokesperson of Amnesty International Norway.
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Judge criticizes Sri Lanka’s dismal record on fundamental rights

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 December 2004, 04:44 GMT]
“The Government of Sri Lanka went to the United Nations in 1980 and 1981, raised its hand to say it was a signatory to the UN’s social, cultural and economic rights conventions, and sought to raise the country’s profile internationally. But until now, not even a single section of the fundamental rights laws set forth in the 1978 constitution has been changed to reflect international conventions," said Vavuniya District Judge, Mr. Manickavasagar Ilancheliyan, Monday.
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Spill water floods Muttur villages, 3000 families left in the lurch

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 December 2004, 00:46 GMT]
About twenty Tamil villages in Eachchilampathu division in Muttur area are under water since December 19 following the opening of sluice gates of two major irrigation tanks -Kantalai in Trincomalee district and Minneriya in Pollonnorawa district, which are in full capacity. Irrigation authorities have opened the sluice gates of these two tanks to avoid breach to them following heavy rain and excess water flowing from Mahaweli ganga to these tanks. About three thousand families have been displaced, as their wattle and daub houses were washed away or damaged by the spill water.
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CWC Minister’s statements in SL parliament decried

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 December 2004, 00:18 GMT]
Mr. R. P. Kannan, Deputy Secretary and Uva provincial organiser of Workers National Association (WNA), Saturday condemned a statement in Parliament by Minister Muthu Sivalingam of the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) Friday. Mr. Kannan alleged that on the votes of the Ministry of Estate Housing and Infrastructure, the Minister had said that the Plantation Sector people are enjoying all the rights and equal status with others in the country.
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Sri Lanka loses 40,139 man-days due to strike

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 December 2004, 12:34 GMT]
The number of man-days lost due to strikes in the sectors of estate and establishment in Sri Lanka up to third quarter of this year are 40,139. During this period 46 strikes took place, 21 in the estate sector and the balance in the establishment, according to the labour ministry statistics.
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Thousands form human chain protest in Chavakachcheri

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 December 2004, 11:13 GMT]
Thousands of Tamil civilians in Thenmaradchchi division in Jaffna district held a human chain agitation campaign on either side of A-9 highway Monday morning demanding the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) to resume peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the basis of Interim Self Governing Authority proposals (ISGA) by the latter. Protestors carried placards and shouted slogans holding hands along the A 9 Jaffna-Kandy road from Kodikamam to Kaithady, sources said. The campaign has been organized by the civil groups federation in Thenmaradchchi.
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Drama spotlights problems of war-widows in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 December 2004, 03:06 GMT]
A drama program held at the Kailasapathy Auditorium of the University of Jaffna on Sunday at 10:30 am for the plan by the Tamil Refugees Rehabilitation Organization (TRRO) to benefit the women widowed by war, sources in Jaffna said.
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Efficient deployments benefit thousands in Batticaloa - TRO

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 December 2004, 23:08 GMT]
Many villages have been marooned under flood water preventing people from returning to their homes though rain has stopped for the last two days in Batticaloa district. Vaharai divisional secretariat division was the worst affected area by the floods in the Batticaloa district. Hundreds of families had sought refuge at schools and other public buildings. Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) was there providing urgently needed assistance to the flood victims, civil sources in Vakarai told TamilNet. 4505 Vakarai villagers have benefited by this timely help, according to a TRO official.
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Floodwaters uproot landmines in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 December 2004, 18:48 GMT]
Anti-personnel landmines made of plastic weighing around 100 -150g were observed floating in some areas close to SLA camps in Sithandy, Morakkoddanchenai and Pullumalai in the flood ravaged Batticaloa district, civil sources said. Some animals were killed or injured by landmine explosions during the last few days.
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LTTE leaders discuss Trinco development with NEPC officials

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 December 2004, 17:08 GMT]
"The utmost goal of our liberation struggle is to free our people from all sufferings and to ensure that they lead a life in their areas with all basic needs are met,"said Mr.S.Elilan, LTTE Trincomalee district political head addressing a one day- discussion with regard to the Trincomalee district development which was attended by top officials of the North-East Provincial Council (NEPC). The discussion was held at Kaddaiparichchan Vipulananda School in the LTTE controlled Muttur east, down south of east port town Sunday.
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Find Consensus Within Government Coalition Before Seeking Our Co-operation - UNP MP

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 December 2004, 13:48 GMT]
"Whilst we are always ready to support the peace process, any effort by the government to advance the peace process without first dealing with the contradictions and conflict within their coalition ranks will be in vain" said Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, UNP MP for Kalutara District, at a press conference held in Colombo Sunday.
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Catholic church attacked by Sinhala nationalist mob

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 December 2004, 12:19 GMT]
A Catholic church in Homagama, 22 kilometers southeast of Colombo, was attacked by a group of Sinhala nationalist mob in the early hours of Sunday morning. The church has been subjected for vioence for the third time this year and it is severely damaged in the latest attack on Sunday, church sources said. South Sri Lanka has witnessed increased viloence against christian denominations since the sudden demise of a leading Sinhala Buddhist nationalist monk last December.
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More than 200000 families hit by floods in northeast

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 December 2004, 17:39 GMT]
More than two hundred thousand families have been affected by the heavy rains and floods in the northeast, offials said. Batticaloa has the largest number of flood afflicted people - more than 75,000. There are 65,000 in Amparai and more than 40,000 in Kilinochchi Mullaithivu and Trincomalee. Around 4,000 families are affected by the floods and rain in Jaffna. Traffic on the main highway from Batticaloa was blocked as it went under 4.5 feet of flood waters Thursday.
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Jaffna RRAN fraud case put off

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 December 2004, 15:04 GMT]
Jaffna magistrate friday ordered to strike off from the trial roll the case on forty seven million rupees fraud in the construction ofl public markets and a home for the aged under the Rehabilition,Reconstruction Authority for North(RRAN) during the Peoples Alliance govt in 2001. Magistrate R.T Viknarajah said the case would off the trial roll until the instruction of the attorney general is received.
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Telephone link to Trincomalee cut off

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 December 2004, 14:01 GMT]
Telephone link between Trincomalee District and other parts of the country has been cut off since Saturday morning around 9.a.m due to damage caused to underground cable lines, Sri Lanka Telecom sources in Tincomalee told TamilNet. The Sri Lanka Telecom has deployed several teams to detect the damage.
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Paramilitary cadre arrested with hand grenade in Valaichenai

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 December 2004, 10:40 GMT]
A paramilitary cadre, Vellaikutty Tharmakumar (25), believed to be a member of the paramilitary group led by Karuna, was arrested in Valaichenai, 32 kilometres north of Batticaloa, when he was found in possession of a hand grenade Friday evening, Police sources said.
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CTTU discusses Jaffna HSZ issue with SL President

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 December 2004, 03:18 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, told a delegation of the Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union (CTTU) Friday that the Sri Lankan security forces continue to believe that Liberation Tiger cadres would infiltrate into the high security zones if the internally displaced families were allowed to resettle, according to CTTU general secretary Mr.T.Mahasivam.
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TRO assists flood victims in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 December 2004, 03:17 GMT]
The Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) has been distributing relief packages to flood victims in the Trincomalee district since Thursday. TRO Trincomalee district secretariat workers Thursday and Friday supplied relief packages to all victims irrespective of any differences in the north of the district. Each package contains relief material including dry ration worth about five hundred rupees, sources said.
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Bishop Emeritus Antony felicitated

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 December 2004, 20:45 GMT]
His Lordship L.R.Antony, Bishop Emeritus of Trincomalee-Batticaloa Diocese was felicitated on the day of his Golden Jubilee of Priesthood. The felicitation event was held in Trincomalee St.Mary's Cathedral on Wednesday.
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130,000 families affected by flood in east

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 December 2004, 12:29 GMT]
The recent flood in the three district of the eastern province, Batticaloa, Amparai and Trincomalee, has affected about 130,000 families. The breakdown is 61,588 in Batticaloa, 69,048 in Amparai, and 1,799 in Trincomalee. Eight persons including two children died till Thursday night in these districts due to heavy rain and flood. Most of the deaths were due to severe cold. No death has been reported from Trincomalee district, social service sources said.
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Civil groups to hold agitation campaign in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 December 2004, 06:08 GMT]
The first human chain agitation campaign demanding the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) to strengthen the peace process and to recommence the stalled negotiations with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the basis of Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals is scheduled to be held in Thenmaradchchi division in Jaffna district on Monday.
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Veteran writer, poet Reggie Siriwardene dies

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 December 2004, 05:44 GMT]
Mr.Reggie Siriwardene, well-known journalist, social analyst, poet and playwright and who fought for the protection of Human Rights passed away peacefully at the age of 82 in Colombo Wednesday. His funeral was held Thursday evening at Kanatte cemetery amid large gathering of all walks of life. Several leading journalists and educationists condoled his demise as an irreparable loss. He has authored a well-documented analysis that describes the damage done to ethnic relations by government produced school textbooks in Sri Lanka
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UNP MP files contempt charge against Anura Bandaranaike

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 December 2004, 16:44 GMT]
Mr.Johnston Fernando, Kurunagala district United National Party (UNP) parliamentarian filed a petition in the Supreme Court requesting it to issue a rule against Mr.Anura Bandaranaike for alleged contempt of court for predicting the jail sentence on Mr.S.B.Dissanayake one month ahead of his conviction, legal sources said.
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Solheim meets President Chandrika

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 December 2004, 16:19 GMT]
Mr.Erik Solheim, Norwegian special peace envoy Thursday urged the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to exercise the maximum restraint and refrain from actions that could be interpreted as provocations, especially at a time when peace negotiations were not taking place, states a press release issued by the Presidential Secretariat following the talks between the facilitator and President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge.
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"LTTE important component in NE affairs"- Tyronne Fernando

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 December 2004, 15:08 GMT]
"Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is a very important component in the North East affairs. The LTTE is not prohibited in the island. As such there is no reason to oppose for working with that organization" said Mr.Tyronne Fernando, newly appointed Governor of North East Province Thursday when addressing provincial secretaries, heads of provincial departments and other related officials for the first time after he assumed office Wednesday.
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Media persons protest against grenade attack

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 December 2004, 14:45 GMT]
The Free Media Movement and the Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association Thursday held a demonstration in front of the Colombo Fort Railway Station in protest to the grenade attack on Bollywood concert last Saturday, which killed two persons including Mr.Lanka Jayasunthara, photojournalist of Lankadeepa, Sinhala daily newspaper.
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Norwegian Embassy in Sri Lanka shut down amid Anthrax fear

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 December 2004, 12:42 GMT]
The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Colombo has been closed down temporarily for three days with effect from Thursday due to anthrax scare when it received a letter containing white powder. Norwegian diplomats suspected the white powder could be deadly anthrax powder, embassy sources said. Police from Colombo Cinnamon Garden has sealed off the area for security reasons while the powder is being analysed. All events scheduled to be held Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the Norwegian embassy in relation to the current visit of special peace envoy Mr.Erik Solheim have been cancelled, officials said.
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Tokyo Donors recognise UPFA' inability to rein in JVP - Thinnakural Daily

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 December 2004, 12:25 GMT]
In its most recent editorial, the Tamil news daily Thinnakural has welcomed the joint statement issued by the representatives of the co-chairs of the Tokyo Donor Conference, after their meeting with the Sri Lankan President. Hailing the timing of the meeting to coincide with the visit of the Norwegian Special Envoy, Mr. Eric Solheim, to Sri Lanka, the editorial pointed out the long history of JVP's antagonism towards the Norwegian role in the peace process and the inability of the President's UPFA to rein in the contrary view and hostile activities of the JVP.
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Tyronne Fernando assumes duties as NE Governor

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 December 2004, 17:22 GMT]
Mr.Tyronne Fernando, newly appointed Governor for the North East Province Wednesday assumed duties in the Governor's Secretariat which is located at Orr's Hill, a suburb in Trincomalee. Dignitaries of all faiths blessed him before he started his duties in his office. The Governor spoke in Sinhala first and then in English. His speech was not translated into Tamil language, sources said.
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Batticaloa NGOs, Humanitarian Agencies appeal for peace

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 December 2004, 17:18 GMT]
A group of non-governmental organizations (NGO) and humanitarian agencies based in Batticaloa district in a press statement released Wednesday urged all those responsible for the maintenance of peace and stability in Batticaloa District to bring to a close the pattern of violence.
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Twenty Tamil refugees return to Talaimannar by sea

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 December 2004, 17:10 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Navy Tuesday evening arrested 20 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees when they landed in Talaimannar coastal area and one of them with about one and half kilogram of ganja. All the twenty were handed over to the Talaimannar Police, sources said. Mannar Magistrate Mr.M.N.M.Abdulla Wednesday released 19 refugees and ordered remand till December 29 for the refugee who was allegedly possessing ganja when they were produced in court by the police.
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Ex-LTTE cadre killed in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 December 2004, 16:01 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen shot and killed Mr. Arul Jehan (25) in Batticaloa Kallady 4th cross street Wednesday evening around 7.30 PM, Police said.
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GoSL entirely responsible for resuming talks - LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 December 2004, 11:07 GMT]
"The responsibility of resurrecting the stalled peace process is entirely with the government in ensuring that its coalition partners reflect the thinking of the president, if she is in fact really sincere, and her military refrains from coercive and provocative actions", Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, Head of the Political Wing of the LTTE told the Norwegian facilitators Wednesday in Kilinochchi. "Norwegian delegation was unable to give assurance that Sri Lanka Government will take any constructive steps to take the peace process forward" Thamilchelvan told the Press after the meeting.
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Urgent need of relief to flood victims in NE - TRO

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 December 2004, 09:01 GMT]
"There is an ugent need to supply cooked meals, fresh drinking water, shelter and other immediate necessities to the flood victims in the NorthEast", a TRO official told TamilNet. TRO has provided temporary accommodation to 761 families and is supplying cooked meals, drinking water and other humanitarian assistance to a further 254 families in the Kilinochchi District, the official added.
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Address the JVP problem - Tokyo co-chairs urge President

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 December 2004, 08:42 GMT]
Three of the four co-chairs of the Tokyo Donor Conference, Japan, EU and US, in a joint press release issued Wednesday expressed deep concern about the ongoing JVP-led actions against the peace process in Sri Lanka and the Government of Norway's efforts as facilitator. The representatives expressed "bewilderment" that a "member party of the UPFA" could engage in such a campaign in "absolute contradiction of the clearly stated position of the President and the Government that they endorse and support the Norwegian role". The representatives urged the President to address the problem.
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Transport issues delay Solheim's meeting with Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 December 2004, 06:51 GMT]
The meeting between Norwegian peace envoy Eric Solheim and Liberation Tigers Head of Political Wing, S.P.Thamilchelvan expected to be held in Kilinochchi at 11.30am Wednesday will take place at 2pm, according to LTTE sources in Vanni. Mr Solheim arrived in Anuradhapura this morning in Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) helicopter and is travelling to Kilinochchi from Vavuniya by land, sources in Vanni confirmed.
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USAID supported project in Trinco on 'Democracy'

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 December 2004, 05:33 GMT]
The USAID, with the support of Eastern Rehabilitation Organization (ERO) in Trincomalee, has launched a new project: " Improving Local Democracy through Citizen Participation." The inaugural event was held Sunday at the Trincomalee Hindu Cultural Hall as a part of the International Human Rights Day celebrations organized by several UN agencies, international and national non-governmental organizations, sources said.
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Sri Lanka’s credibility for UN Secy. Gen. post questioned

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 December 2004, 04:45 GMT]
In an editorial Tuesday, the Colombo-based Tamil language daily, Sudar Oli, questioned Sri Lanka’s credibility to nominate Dr. Jayantha Dhanapala to the United Nations Secretary General post, arguing that Sri Lanka has “earned the status of an oppressive state that seeks to enslave an ethnic minority within its own territory, denying the minority's fundamental rights, even its very existence.”
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Suspects allowed bail in transporting mines to Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 December 2004, 21:53 GMT]
The Chavakachcheri Magistrate Mr.P.Subramaniam Tuesday allowed three persons on personal bail in a sum of ten thousand rupees each in a case in which they have been charged for allegedly transporting anti-personnel mines and landmines in a vehicle through Muhamalai army checkpoint to Jaffna town, legal sources said.
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Attack on Bollywood show creates political storm in south

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 December 2004, 20:23 GMT]
The grenade attack on Bollywood concert held Saturday in Colombo killing two and injuring several has created a political storm in the south of the country following a speech by President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge at Matara Sunday accusing a parliamentarian of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) and some monks of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) for causing the crime.
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SLA corporal commits suicide in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 December 2004, 19:34 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) corporal, Mr.Ajantha Bandara, 21, committed suicide by shooting himself with a T-56 gun Monday night around 8.30 p.m. in a sentry point which is located in Colombagam within the municipal limits of Jaffna town, police said.
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New NE Governor arrives in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 December 2004, 14:28 GMT]
Mr.Tyronne Fernando, newly appointed Governor of the North East Province is scheduled to assume duties in the Governor's Secretariat Wednesday morning after a religious ceremony where dignitaries of all faiths would offer their blessings. The Governor's Secretariat is located in Orr's Hill area in Trincomalee town, sources said.
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Anti-War Front to organize national conference in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 December 2004, 14:12 GMT]
National Anti War Front (NAWF), an umbrella organization of thirteen trade unions is to hold a regional conference on January 22 at Anuradhapura in the north central province and a national conference in Colombo Sugathathasa Stadium on February 26 to exert pressure on the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) to take forward the stalled peace process, said Mr.Bertie Ranaweerage, one of the convenors of the project.
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Joint Training Exercise By Indian and Sri Lankan Navy

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 December 2004, 14:03 GMT]
Two Indian Naval vessels, Saranka and Thushka docked in Colombo on Tuesday morning.The visiting Indian Naval Officers were welcomed by Senior Naval Commanders and Officers of the Sri Lankan Navy. Spokesperson for the Sri Lanka Navy, Mr. Jayantha Perera briefed the media about the arrival of the ships and the joint training exercise to commence on Thursday, 16th December 2004.
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Solheim - SLMM Meet to discuss the Eastern Situation

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 December 2004, 13:53 GMT]
Norwegian Special Envoy to Sri Lanka Mr. Eric Solheim met with the head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM-Lk) Maj. Gen. Trond Furuhovde Tuesday morning.
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Thirteen Tamil refugees surrender in Mannar

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 December 2004, 11:18 GMT]
Mannar Magistrate Mr.M.N.M.Abdulla Tuesday ordered the civil authorities to send all thirteen Tamil refugees who returned from India after fourteen years in refugee camps to their respective villages in the districts of Jaffna, Mannar and Vavuniya, legal sources said.
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Seized heroin, ganja destroyed in Mannar

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 December 2004, 11:17 GMT]
A consignment of three and a half kilo of heroin and three and a half kilo of ganja seized by the vigilant group of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) when being smuggled into the island during the weekend was destroyed in the presence of public in the heart of Pesalai police division in Mannar district Tuesday around noon, civil sources said.
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Nine Indian poachers to be repatriated

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 December 2004, 11:17 GMT]


Mannar Magistrate Mr.N.M.M.Abdullah Tuesday ordered the repatriation of nine of the twelve Indian poachers now in remand in Anuradhapura prison. He made this order on the written direction of the Attorney General, legal sources said.
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Iranaimadu spill water submerges Paranthan villages

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 December 2004, 10:58 GMT]
Torrential rain across Vanni district the last three days has filled the Iranaimadu tank to levels close to the maximum 34 feet forcing the spillway administrators to open the sluice gates at 32 feet water level, sources in Vanni said. Villages in 14 Grama Sevaka divisions are badly affected and villages north of Murasumoddai-Paranthan road in Kandavalai AGA division are submerged in flood waters, sources added.
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Sri Lanka army informant shot dead

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 December 2004, 09:51 GMT]
A Sri Lanka army informant was shot dead in Alayyadivembu in Ampara District Monday night around 9.30 PM. Gunmen took the victim Mr. Sivaguru Uthayakumar, 28, from his house and shot him, Akkaraipattu Police said.
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NECORD provides building to Salli students

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 December 2004, 04:00 GMT]
A three storied building, constructed under the Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded North East Community Restoration Development (NECORD) project at a cost of 5.986 million rupees, was declared open in Salli Ambal Maha Vidiyalayam on Sunday evening. Salli, a fishing hamlet, is located along the seacoast, about 12 km north of Trincomalee town, in the Trincomalee Divisional Secretariat division.
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HRCSL lacks teeth, says Human Rights activist

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 December 2004, 03:18 GMT]
"Lawmakers of the country should give teeth to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka to implement its determination on violation of human rights. Presently the HRCSL is only empowered to submit its recommendation on human right violation complaints. That's why the violation of human rights are on the increase", said Mr.K.Sivapalan, leading human rights activist and Attorney-at-Law when addressing the Universal Human Rights day event in Trincomalee Hindu Cultural Hall Sunday.
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RSF says concerned over attacks on Tamil media

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 December 2004, 21:12 GMT]
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Monday voiced concern over threats to the news media in the war-torn north and east of Sri Lanka after a Tamil-language daily newspaper and the premises of a radio and TV group were the targets of violent attacks two days apart. RSF said in a statement that the attacks not only posed a threat to journalists but also denied the public reasonable access to news and information. It called for thorough investigations to identify and punish those responsible.
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Two die in road accident at Muhamalai army checkpoint

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 December 2004, 16:49 GMT]
Mr.Sambasivam Rahulatharan aged 22 of Tellipalai in Jaffna district and Mr.Narayanasamy Radhakrishnan aged 39 of Nuwareliya district died on the spot near Muhamalai army checkpoint when their motor bike and a private passenger bus collided in a head on crash Monday evening around 6 p.m., police said.
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Norwegian peace envoy arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 December 2004, 14:31 GMT]
Mr.Erik Solheim, special envoy to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, arrived in Colombo Monday evening. Mr. Solheim will have meetings with President Chandrika Kumarathunghe, the opposition leader Mr. Ranil Wickramasinghe, representatives of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), according to the Norwegian Embassy sources in Colombo. Mr. Solheim is scheduled to meet with the LTTE Political Head, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, on Wednesday.
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Funeral held for Tamil scholar Sokkan

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 December 2004, 13:48 GMT]
The cremation of late veteran Tamil scholar Mr.K.Sokkalingam, fondly called "Sokkan" took place amid torrential rain in Chemmani Hindu cemetery Monday evening. Large number of people of all walks of life bade farewell to the departed Tamil educationist who rendered invaluable service to the development of Tamil language and its literature for more than four decades.
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Heavy rain, flood disrupts normal life in east

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 December 2004, 09:53 GMT]
Several villages in the three districts of the eastern province, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Amparai are inundated with floodwater following incessant rain since Saturday. Several hundreds of families in the three districts residing in low-lying areas have been evacuated and given shelter in schools and other public buildings, social services sources said.
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‘No Karuna group, only SLA psy ops’ –Kausalyan

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 December 2004, 04:47 GMT]
“Sri Lanka military intelligence has from time to time unleashed brutal state terror in the East, using individuals and paramilitary groups such as PLOTE Mohan and Razeek group. There is no Karuna group operating in the East now. The recent violence in the East in the name of ‘Karuna group’ is a continuation of this state terror by the SLA,” said Mr. E. Kausalyan, the political wing leader of the Liberation Tigers in the East, speaking to journalists at the LTTE secretariat in Kokkadicholai Saturday.
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Veteran Sea Tiger Lt.Colonel Maravan dies

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 December 2004, 18:54 GMT]
Lt.Colonel Maravan (S.Stanislauss), a veteran cadre of the Sea Tigers division of the Liberation Tigers, passed away at the age of 68 at his residence in Mullaithivu on Saturday, and his body was brought to Jaffna Sunday afternoon through the Muhamalai army checkpoint for the people of the district to pay last respects, sources said.
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Grenade thrown at Batticaloa bakery

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 December 2004, 16:25 GMT]
A grenade was thrown at a bakery located in Batticaloa Trinco Road at 6.45 PM Sunday. One person, Chandrakumar Rajan (20), was injured in the attack. This was the second attack on the bakery within the last 30 days.
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Attempt to destroy Nilaveli LTTE office thwarted - LTTE

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 December 2004, 14:59 GMT]
Mr.Thooyavan, LTTE Nilaveli division political head in Trincomalee district Sunday lodged a complaint with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) that an abortive attempt has been made to destroy the LTTE's Nilaveli political office by setting fire to the asbestos roofed building and a cadjan hut Sunday early morning around 3.30 a.m. Addressing a group of Trincomalee based journalists later in the day Mr.Thooyavan accused that some members of the State armed forces located in the area were allegedly behind this attempt, sources said.
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Trinco Campus launches first external degree programme

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 December 2004, 07:40 GMT]
Trincomalee campus of the East University has inaugurated its first External Degree Programme on two disciplines, B.Sc (Management) and B.A (Communication). The inauguration of the programme and introduction of applicants was held Friday evening at the conference hall of the Trincomalee campus with Rector, Rev Dr.C.P.Rajendram in the chair.
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Sokkan demise irreparable loss to Tamil nation - LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 December 2004, 22:57 GMT]
The Political wing of the LTTE in its condolence message Saturday said that it honourd Vidwan Sokkan by declaring him Patriot (Natup Patralar). He worked hard in his old age too to mould a new generation that should dedicate for the development of Tamil language and literature, the condolence message added.
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Swiss envoy opens school building in Chavakachcheri

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 December 2004, 19:36 GMT]
Mr.Bernadino Regazzoni, Swiss envoy in Sri Lanka Saturday declared open a new school building constructed at a cost of about 7.5 million Sri Lankan rupees in the Chavakachcheri Drieberg College in Jaffna district. The Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation (SDC) provided the necessary funds to this project, sources said.
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Grenade blast kills two in Colombo Bollywood show

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 December 2004, 18:48 GMT]
Two people were killed and around 15 others were wounded in a grenade blast in the bollywood "Temptation 2004" show at Horse Race Square, Colombo, according to the Police. The blast occured at 11.30 p.m midnight during the show, which was staged by Bollywood superstar Sharukh Khan. Buddhist Monks were earlier protesting against holding the show on the death anniversary of Ven Gangodawilla Soma Thera.
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Monks protest at Colombo Bollywood show

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 December 2004, 15:28 GMT]
Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) parliamentarian Ven.Omalpe Sobitha Thera sustained injuries and twelve protesters including monks were arrested at the "Temptation 2004" show at Horse Race Square, Colombo, Saturday, staged by Bollywood superstar Sharukh Khan when protesters turned violent, police sources in Colombo said. Venerable Omalpe Sobitha Thera is warded in the Colombo National Hospital, medical sources said. Buddhist Monks were protesting against holding the entertainment event on the death anniversary of Ven Gangodawilla Soma Thera.
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Ensuring Language Rights a must to resolve conflict- Collure

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 December 2004, 14:46 GMT]
"Until the language rights of Tamil people enshrined in the Statute are implemented in true spirit, no satisfactory solution to the conflict between the two communities can be found," said Mr.Raja Collure, Chairman of the Official Languages Department inaugurating a special Tamil language-training course for police personnel in Colombo Friday.
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Vavuniya Rights Day focusses on Death Penalty

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 December 2004, 10:44 GMT]
"Whether death penalty is a violation of human rights is a fundamental question debated in societies around the world. In Sri Lanka, after the murder of Judge Ambepitiya, the death penalty has been reintroduced. There has to be vigourous debate by the citizens on the States right to inflict death on an individual," said Manicavasagar Ilancheliyan, Vavuniya District Judge, speaking at the Human Rights Day held at the Irambaikulam Maha Vidiyalayam, Friday, sources said.
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Human Rights Day meeting held in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 December 2004, 21:29 GMT]
"The right to live has not been included in the Sri Lankan Constitution and laws relating to human rights are only in the Statute but several of such laws are not in force," said Attorney-at-Law Mr.T. Karikalan addressing the International Human Rights Day meeting held in Trincomalee St.Joseph's College Friday which was organized by the Trincomalee regional office of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) in collaboration with the Trincomalee Police.
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UPFA budget passed by 105-vote majority

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 December 2004, 18:57 GMT]
Sri Lanka parliament Friday evening adopted the maiden budget for 2005 of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government with a majority of 105 votes at the third reading following the conclusion of committee stage debate, parliamentary sources said.
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Veteran Tamil educationist "Sokkan" dies

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 December 2004, 16:41 GMT]
Mr. Kanthapachettiyar Sokkalingam fondly called as "Sokkan" passed away peacefully at the age of seventy-seven Friday afternoon in Jaffna. Jaffna University recently conferred Honorary Doctorate of Literature on him for his invaluable services he rendered to the development of Tamil literature and Tamil language for more than four decades.
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Human rights of Tamils denied in "No war, No peace situation" - JDCHA

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 December 2004, 14:38 GMT]
The Jaffna District Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (JDCHA) Friday accused the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) that it has failed to address the needs of aggrieved persons in the NorthEast. JDCHA reminded that the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) is a signatory to the UN optional protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The need of the hour is a pragmatic approach by the HRCSL to arrest the deteriorating law and order, it noted.
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Colombo continues to violate Tamils’ rights- Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 December 2004, 13:09 GMT]
“We have established a system of government that upholds and protects the fundamental rights of our people in regions under our control in the northeast. Our judiciary and Police are committed a society based on the Rule of Law in which our people can enjoy their freedoms and pursue their interests with self respect. But in areas held by the Sri Lankan government its armed forces continue to violate the rights of the Tamil people," said Mr. S. P Thamilchelvan, head of the political wing of the Liberation Tigers addressing a meeting to mark International Human Rights Day in Kilinochchi Friday.
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Private buses on Colombo-Vavuniya routes under attack

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 December 2004, 11:33 GMT]
Private bus operators are refusing to provide transport along the different Colombo to Vavuniya routes due to a recent spate of attacks on the vehicles where the bus windows were smashed by stones thrown by unknown persons in Kurunagala and Puttalam areas. Many passengers have been stranded in Vavuniya, sources in Vavuniya said.
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Give urgent priority to ISGA, IFT tells Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 December 2004, 11:23 GMT]
Noting that the the proposal to resume Talks based on ISGA was accepted by the previous Government of Sri Lanka at the end of six rounds of talks and much deliberations between parties, the International Federation of Tamils (IFT), a consortium of expatriate Tamil organizations based in Geneva, in a press statement issued Friday warned that the present government’s suggestions to include ISGA proposals "as part of the final conclusion of the broad-based Talks" may provide for "misleading, prevaricating and ultimately sabotaging the Tamil people’s struggle for equality and justice."
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Mothers of disappeared hold prayer on HR day in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 December 2004, 11:17 GMT]
Members of Jaffna Mothers' Front (JMF) and Jaffna District Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (JDCHA) Friday morning till afternoon held a prayer in front of the regional office of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) after lighting the flame in remembrance of their sons and daughters who disappeared after being arrested by the government security forces in Jaffna and its suburbs during 1996-1997 period, civil sources said.
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Grenade thrown again at Batticaloa Thinakural office

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 December 2004, 07:19 GMT]
Two unidentified persons who came in a motorbike threw a grenade into the Eastern Regional office of the popular Tamil daily Thinakkural at 12.10 p.m Friday. The grenade didn't explode, but two senior staff suffered minor injuries caused by fragments of window glass that were broken by the grenade.
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Women protest against new army sentry points in Trinco

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 December 2004, 04:42 GMT]
Hundreds of Tamil women in Trincomalee Thursday protested in front of the Trincomalee office of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) demanding the removal of new sentry points established by the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) following the violent incidents on 2 December in the east port town, sources said.
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Varani families demand payment of resettlement allowance

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 December 2004, 16:33 GMT]
Resettled families in Varani village in Thenmaradchchi division Thursday held a sit-in protest preventing employees of Jaffna district secretariat entering the building bringing the civil administration to a halt till noon, civil sources said. The protesters demanded immediate payment of resettlement allowance of Rs 25,000 as promised by the Sri Lanka Government, civil sources in Jaffna said.
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Sri Lanka army permits hinder Kalmadu resettlement

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 December 2004, 15:41 GMT]
Refugee families that resettled in Kalmadu, 15 kilometres northwest of Vavuniya, said Thursday that rebuilding their lives is difficult because they have to obtain special permits from the Sri Lanka army for access to their fields. The village was destroyed in a Sri Lanka army operation in 1999. The villagers of Kalmadu lost all their belongings when they fled the war. They returned in late 2002, many months after Colombo signed a cease fire agreement (CFA) with the Liberation Tigers.
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HIV/AIDS awareness seminar held in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 December 2004, 14:25 GMT]
"Students of the east port town should exercise constraint in their sexual behaviours and should not fall to prey to the deadly disease. Six persons have already been affected by HIV/AIDS affected in Trincomalee district," warned Dr.E.G.Gnanagunalan, President of the Trincomalee district branch of the Sri Lanka Red Cross (SLRC) and a senior medical officer of the provincial ministry of health addressing a seminar for students held Wednesday in the Trincomalee Town Hall to mark the International HIV/ AIDS Day.
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Halt the drift and resume peace process, NPC tells GoSL, LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 December 2004, 14:19 GMT]
''The danger in the present situation is the possibility of escalation that suddenly goes out of control of both sides and plunges the country into inadvertent war...We also call upon the two parties to make a concerted effort to ensure that the safeguards in the Ceasefire Agreement are functional,'' said the National Peace Council, in a press release issued in Colombo Thursday.
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Police constable shot dead in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 December 2004, 14:05 GMT]
A Tamil policeman from the Kattankudy Police was shot and killed at Trinco Road in Batticaloa town Thursday evening around 6.30 p.m, security sources said.
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Girl found dead with cut injuries in Point Pedro

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 December 2004, 12:30 GMT]
Ms Murugesu Elilarasi aged 22 of Point Pedro in Jaffna district was found dead in her house Thursday morning with cut injuries on her head and abdomen. Her house is located along B.M.C Road in Point Pedro, police sources said.
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Two Jaffna shops destroyed by fire

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 December 2004, 10:13 GMT]
A bookshop and a music shop located between the Jaffna bus stand and the hospital were completely damaged by fire Thursday early morning.
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CWUF threatens legal action over Estate Housing Funds

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 December 2004, 04:49 GMT]
"We gave five thousand bank account pass-books, each with the deposit of thirty thousand rupees, to enable the estate workers to build their own houses during the tenure of Peoples Alliance government during 2002. Some political leaders are now working to return the money back to government. If this attempt continues we will take legal action," said Sathasivam the former parliamentarian and the general secretary of Ceylon Workers United Front, in a meeting held at Maskeliya head office, chaired by the S.Sivasundharam the deputy secretary of CWUF, sources said.
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VVT killing inquiry begins

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 December 2004, 21:04 GMT]
The inquiry into the killing of two Tamil youths in Valvettithurai (VVT) during Heroes Day celebrations commenced before the Point Pedro Magistrate Mr.K.Ariyanayagam Wednesday, legal sources said. VVT Police led the evidence of two eyewitnesses to the incident where unidentified gunmen came in a motorbike and fired into a group of men playing soccer in VVT Chidambara College grounds killing two youths.
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Grenade attack on Thinakkural Batticaloa office

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 December 2004, 17:11 GMT]
Unidentified persons threw a grenade Wednesday around 6 pm targeting the Batticaloa office of Thinakkural, a leading Tamil daily published in Colombo, Batticaloa police said.
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Grenades thrown at Jaffna PLOTE office

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 December 2004, 17:05 GMT]
Unidentified persons Wednesday night threw two grenades at the Peoples Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) office building located in front of Jaffna Teaching Hospital inside the High Security Zone in the center of Jaffna town. First grenade was thrown at about 8.55 a.m and the second around 9.15 p.m., Jaffna Police said.
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Child abuse awareness campaign launched in Trinco

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 December 2004, 16:20 GMT]
UNICEF supported Trincomalee District Child Protection Committee (DCPC) Wednesday launched the Awareness Campaign Against Child Abuse in Trincomalee District. The event was held at the Trincomalee Divisional Secretariat. The implementing agency of the campaign is the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization, UNICEF sources said.
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New SLA sentry points in Trincomalee violate CFA- Elilan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 December 2004, 13:28 GMT]
Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Wednesday lodged a complaint with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) that the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has established several sentry points in the Trincomalee town and its suburbs after December 2nd in violation of the Ceasefire Agreement signed by the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, SLMM sources said.
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Fracas in Sri Lanka Parliament over jailed minister

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 December 2004, 13:22 GMT]
MPs exchanged blows and the Sri Lankan Parliament's Sergeant-at-Arms was manhandled Wednesday as opposition United National Party protested in the house against the arrest of former minister minister, Mr. S. B Dissanayaka.
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CFA in danger of collapse, Prof Peiris says

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 December 2004, 12:20 GMT]
''The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has demanded that the Norwegian facilitators engaged in the peace process should quit, whereas the President insists that they should continue to be the facilitators. It is evident that contradictions within the Sri Lanka's ruling coalition have reached the highest point...On the peace front, given the amplitude of contradictions within the Government, the ceasefire agreement (CFA) suffers erosion day by day,'' said UNP spokesperson, Prof., G.L. Pieris, M.P. at a media conference held today wednesday the Opposition Leaders's office.
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Concrete-block manufacturing facility opened in Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 December 2004, 11:49 GMT]
The opening ceremony of a factory that builds concrete blocks from cement was declared open in Kilinochchi Monday, sources from Vanni said. The effort was funded by The Economic Consultancy House (TECH) a Non-Governmental Non-Profit Sharing Organization registered with the Government of Sri Lanka.
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Two youths accused of transporting mines

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 December 2004, 18:23 GMT]
The Chavakachcheri Magistrate Tuesday remanded two youths till December 21,when Kodikamam Police produced them for allegedly transporting four anti-personnel mines and a landmine through Muhamalai army checkpoint, legal sources said.
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Jaffna High Court to hear HC applications

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 December 2004, 16:31 GMT]
Jaffna High Court Judge Mr.K.P.S.Varatharajah Tuesday gave a final date to Lance Corporal Somaretna Rajapakse to file his objections in the six Habeas Corpus applications in which he and two other army officers were cited as respondents by six petitioners that their sons disappeared after the arrest by the Sri Lanka Army in Ariyalai-Chemmani areas in the Jaffna town during 1997-1997 period, legal sources said.
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Passing out parade for LTTE Special Forces held

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 December 2004, 12:41 GMT]
A passing out parade for Special Forces units of the Liberation Tigers that completed their courses at the LTTE's Military Training School was held on Monday, 6 December, in the Vanni, according to a statement from the LTTE media co-ordinating office in Kilinochchi. The leader of the Liberation Tigers, Mr. Velupillai Pirapaharan presented certificates and prizes to the units. He gave a talk on strategy, tactics and the challenges of modern warfare.
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SLA humiliates women in Jaffna- Ms Sithamparanathan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 December 2004, 12:13 GMT]
"Women in Jaffna suffer humiliation daily. Smartly dressed women are asked whether they belong to the Liberation Tigers and whether they received military training. Women, especially those with fair complexion, are sexually harassed, said Ms Padmini Sithamparanathan, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian speaking during the voting at the Committee stage of Ministry of Social Welfare, parliamentary sources said.
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ISGA is a credible document, Business Leader says

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 December 2004, 11:55 GMT]
"Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposal from the Liberation Tigers is a credible document. Many Southern political parties endangering peace by rejecting the ISGA without comprehensively analysing the proposal and identifying the positive aspects," said Deva Rodrigo, chairman of the Sri Lanka chamber of commerce, during a discussion at Colombo Plaza Hotel last week with a delegation of South African businessmen, sources said.
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Supreme Court jails Dissanayake for contempt of court

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 December 2004, 10:57 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Supreme Court (SC) Tuesday sentenced Mr.S.B.Dissanayake, United National Party (UNP) parliamentarian and a former minister in the governments of People Alliance (PA) and United National Front (UNF) to two years rigorous imprisonment for contempt of court for making a statement defaming the country's superior court, legal sources said.
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Jaffna SLA refuses access to garbage disposal site

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 December 2004, 04:31 GMT]
The administration of the Jaffna Municipal Council (JM) is struggling to keep the city clean as the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has refused permission to use the dumping ground of the council located in the Sandilipay Divisional Secretariat division to dispose garbage collected within the municipal limit, JMC Commissioner Dr.S.Gunarasa said.
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Private TV-Radio regional station in Jaffna damaged

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 December 2004, 04:19 GMT]
A gang of unidentified persons caused serious damage to the Jaffna regional broadcasting station of a Colombo based Sakthi TV and Radio station, a private sector television and radio network, located on the second floor of the Jaffna Veerasingham Hall on Monday night around 9 p.m., Jaffna police said.
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Grenades thrown at Batticaloa LTTE office

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 December 2004, 04:12 GMT]
Unidentifed persons threw four hand grenades at the Batticaloa town political office of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Tuesday early morning around 1.20 a.m., Batticaloa police said. Although few LTTE political activists were at the office, no one was injured in the attack, police sources said.
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VVT murder inquiry to commence in Point Pedro Courts

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 December 2004, 20:23 GMT]
The non-summary inquiry into the murder of two Tamil youths while playing soccer in Valvettithurai (VVT) Chidambara College grounds on November 19 is to commence on 8 December, Wednesday, in the Point Pedro Magistrate Court, legal sources said.
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Estate hospitals starved of development funds

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 December 2004, 11:44 GMT]
"Provincial Administrations routinely employ discriminatory policies in healthcare for estate workers. Financial allocations have been made to improve every Government run hospital in Uva Province. But all of the six Estate Hospitals have been left out. This situation must change," said United Peoples Front (UPF) Councillor Mr Aravindhan Speaking on the Uva Provincial Council 2005 Budget debate on the Provincial Health Ministry, sources said.
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Muttur Tamil villages ignored in rural electrification

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 December 2004, 15:16 GMT]
Mr.K.Thurairatnasingham, Tamil National Alliance Trincomalee district parliamentarian speaking during the committee stage debate in Parliament said that although several villages in Muttur have been selected as part of Rural Electrification project no Tamil villages are included in the scheme, parliamentary sources said.
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Two nations theory is not new to Sri Lanka-TNA MP

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 December 2004, 14:08 GMT]
"Theory of two nations is not a new idea to Sri Lanka," said Mr.Joseph Pararajasingham, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Saturday participating in the committee stage debate on the votes for Labour Relations and Foreign Employment in Parliament. He reminded the prophetic speech made by a Sinhala leader Dr.Colvin R.De Silva of Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) forty-eight years ago during the debate on the Sinhala only bill that "Do you want one nation with two languages or two nations with one language?" parliamentary sources said.
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Floods inundate Pooneryn, Pachchilaipalli villages

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 December 2004, 13:09 GMT]
Torrential rain in Pachchillaipalli and Pooneryn divisions has submerged several settlements in water and severely affected life in several villages, Eelanaatham, a NorthEast Tamil daily, said quoting Kilinochchi Government Agent Mr Rasanayagam. Three hundred families living in Kachchaveli village have been surrounded by water and Pallai Pradeshya Sabha officials are organizing efforts to move the villagers to safety, the paper added.
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Sri Lanka is drifting towards war- Wickremesinghe

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 December 2004, 12:20 GMT]
"The United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government has not taken any forward looking steps towards peace talks or to finding a solution to our pressing national question. Sri Lanka is inexorably drifting towards war with the continued stalemate in peace talks," said Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe, former Prime Minister and leader of the opposition United National Party (UNP) at the 50th year annual convention of UNP held at the Colombo Municipal grounds Sunday morning.
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CHA advocates signing Landmine ban treaty

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 December 2004, 00:16 GMT]
"Sri Lanka government is not a signatory to the Ottawa convention on banning of land mines, but the Landmine Ban Advocacy Forum (LABF) sees the government participation at a recent review meeting as a step toward signing and complying with provisions of the conventions," said The Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA) in a media release issued Friday.
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Police power to detain crime supects to be extended

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 December 2004, 18:57 GMT]
Sri Lanka government is to introduce an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) next week enabling the Police to detain suspects related to rape, murder and organized crime for seventy two hours in their custody since the time of arrest, Mr.John Seneviratne, Minister of Justice in the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government told parliament Saturday, sources said.
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Counter proposals not conducive to peace- Vanni MP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 December 2004, 17:03 GMT]
"The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) should desist from placing counter proposals before resuming negotiations. GoSL should be prepared to resume talks on the basis of Interim Self-Governing Authority proposals. Any further delay has the potential to lead Sri Lanka into another dark period of war and destruction. I urge the Sinhala parties speak with a unified, consistent voice, and enter peace talks," said Tamil national Alliance (TNA) Vanni District MP Mr Sathasivam Kanagaratnam when TamilNet talked to him Saturday.
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Sri Lanka names 11 new envoys

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 December 2004, 16:53 GMT]
The Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) Saturday announced the names of eleven diplomats who are to be posted to various countries as Sri Lanka's envoys. Two Tamils and three Muslims are among those named, foreign ministry sources said.
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Heavy rain belts Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 December 2004, 16:47 GMT]
Jaffna district experienced torrential rain for the last twenty-four hours ending Saturday at 6 p.m. flooding major roads that created major traffic delays on roads linking several towns, sources in Jaffna said. 87 mm of rain was recorded during this period, meteorological sources said.
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Stick courageously to your Policies, Cine Director tells Tamils

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 December 2004, 14:56 GMT]
"Tamils of Eelam must achieve success by continuing to pursue their policies courageously as they have been doing for the past 30 years...The Eelam Tamils must stand firm and attain their final goal," said Bharathiraja (63), the veteran Tamil Director from Tamil Nadu in South India, in an interview to a popular Tamil daily in Jaffna Friday.
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SLA suspends passes on loss of free fish

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 December 2004, 14:19 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers in coastal area of Kachchai in Thenmaradchi division Thursday withdrew passes from four fishermen of the Kachchai village for not supplying free fish to the SLA camps daily, sources said. Fisherman have been regularly providing free fish provisions to SLA camps in a 'mafia' style extortion arrangement by the SLA, residents of the village said.
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Seminar on Dental Care held in Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 December 2004, 14:03 GMT]
A symposium on the state of Dental Care of the northeast was held Saturday at the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) conference hall in Kilinochchi, sources from Vanni said. The symposium was organized by the Centre for Health Care based in Kilinochchi in collaboration with the Norwigion Tamils Health Organization.
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Ratwatte to appear in Court in election murder case

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 December 2004, 10:56 GMT]
The prosecution in the Udathalawinne murder inquiry closed its case last week before a three member High Court Trial-at-Bar in which former Deputy Defence Minister General Anurudha Ratwatte, his two sons Lohan and Chanuka, and thirteen others have been indicted with the murder of ten Muslims on December 10, 2001 the general election day. The Court instructed the defence to call their witnesses to give evidence or dock statements on January 10, 2005, legal sources said
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SC reserves order on Bindunuwewa massacre appeal

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 December 2004, 09:55 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Supreme Court reserved its order on the appeals made by the four accused against death sentence imposed on them by the Trial-at-Bar of the High Court in the Bindunuwewa rehabilitation camp massacre case, for a later date. The appeals were heard by specially constituted five member bench of the SC comprised Justices T.B.Weerasuriya, Nihal Jayasinghe, N.K.Udalagama, N.E.Dissanayake and Raja Fernando, legal sources said.
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Missing Jaffna youths remanded in Welikada

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 December 2004, 09:04 GMT]
Confused reports emerged Saturday about the reported missing of seven Jaffna Tamil youths who went to Colombo in a vehicle last week to receive a relative who was scheduled to return from abroad. Meanwhile parents of these youths have complained to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) to take steps to trace their sons in Colombo, civil sources said.
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Handicap International inaugurates rehabilitation centre

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 December 2004, 07:41 GMT]
Handicap International inaugurated its Physical Rehabilitation Centre in Batticaloa on Friday, 3 December, to mark the International Day of People with Disability, in the presence of representatives of the Batticaloa District Secretariat, NGOs community, UN agencies, ICRC and the Batticaloa Health Services, sources said.
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Bomb threat delays flight to Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 December 2004, 16:06 GMT]
An aircraft belonging to a private airline which was about to take off with 45 civilian passengers to Palaly in Jaffna district Friday morning at 8.30 a.m. from Ratmalana domestic airport was delayed for about 2 hours due to an anonymous telephone call that a bomb had been placed inside the craft, civil aviation sources said.
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TNA parliamentarians vote against Foreign Ministry votes

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 December 2004, 16:00 GMT]
Nineteen parliamentarians 17 Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and 2 United National Party (UNP) voted against the votes of the Foreign Ministry when it was put to division Friday after a committee stage debate in parliament Friday. However the Foreign Ministry votes was passed with a majority of 93 votes, 112 voted for it, parliamentary sources said.
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Ex Policeman shot dead in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 December 2004, 15:31 GMT]
A former Policeman, believed to be an sympathiser of the Liberation Tigers, was shot dead by a gunman at a guesthouse in Batticaloa town Friday evening around 6.30. The ex Police constable, Mr. Johnpillai Chandramohan, 33, was living in Royal Hotel on Trinco Road, Batticaloa after he had been threatened with death by a paramilitary working with the Sri Lankan armed forces last month.
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Army imposes new restrictions in Vadamaradchchi

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 December 2004, 14:39 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army has ordered residents of Vadamaradchchi East, which comes under control of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to get passes from the SLA military base located in Palaly to take generators to their villages from the government controlled areas, civil sources complained
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Tamils won’t go against India’s strategic interests - MP

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 December 2004, 14:17 GMT]
‘The desire to draw limits on the Tamils’ right to self-determination makes the Sri Lankan State align itself with any power that is willing to play along, even to the extent of blatantly seeking the interference of super-powers that would compromise, and put in jeopardy, the strategic interests of India’, said Mr. Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, Tamil National Alliance MP for Jaffna, speaking on the committee stage debate on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Parliament Friday. The Tamil people won't allow themselves to be used to upset the strategic balance of South Asia, the MP said.
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Tyronne Fernando to be sworn in as NE Governor

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 December 2004, 12:18 GMT]
Mr.Tyronne Fernando, former Foreign Minister in the earlier United National Front (UNF) government is to be sworn in as fourth Governor of the Tamil dominated North-East Province on Monday, 6th December, before Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge. He was scheduled to take oaths Friday but the event was put off for Monday, provincial council ministry sources said.
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Residential training for Young journalists in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 December 2004, 12:07 GMT]
Opening event of a one week residential training program organized by the Tamil Young Journalists Association of Batticaloa- Amparai started Friday in Batticaloa, sources from the eastern province said. Several senior Tamil journalists gave lectures in their fields of expertise to attending young journalists from the area during the opening day of the event.
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Norway promotes learning in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 December 2004, 09:38 GMT]
The Norwegian Government has granted Rs. 11.1 million to purchase library books for 120 Cultural Centres in the island. Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar handed over the cheque to the Hon. Minister of Cultural Affaires and National Heritage Vijitha Herath Friday at the Ministry, according to a press release issued from the Royal Norwegian Embassy.
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GoSL must start talks based on ISGA- Jaffna NGOs

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 December 2004, 04:22 GMT]
"If peace and goodwill are to prevail, the Government of Sri Lanka should come forward to discuss without delay the Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals put forward by the LTTE. The proposals represent the collective will of all NorthEast Tamils," said Rev. Father Jeyakumar on behalf of the consortium of NGOs at a meeting held Monday in Nallur, Jaffna. Academics from the South who were on a fact finding mission to Jaffna also participated in the meeting.
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Minority Rights Conference focusses on Upcountry Tamil issues

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 December 2004, 00:43 GMT]
"Upcountry Tamils are a severely disadvantaged minority group in Sri Lanka. Tamils have suffered discrimination from pre-independence time through 20 years of war. The Asian regional minority groups and other minority groups worldwide must join hands to win the rights of all affected people in Sri Lanka," said Mr P Sivapragasam, president of the Human Development Organization, addressing an International Conference on "Asian Minorities and their Development" organized by the Committee on Minorities of the UN held at the Hilltop Hotel in Kandy between 21st and 29th November, sources said.
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LTTE cadre dies of old battle injury

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 December 2004, 18:29 GMT]
Captain Kadalventhan (Jeyasena Gemini) who sustained injuries in the attack on Vavuniya-Irambaikulam army camp in 1997 and was being treated for the last seven years died on November 28, sources in Vanni said. His body was buried with full military honours on 1st December Wednesday in the Chatty LTTE martyrs cemetery in Kayts in Jaffna district.
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Army, Police, LTTE meet in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 December 2004, 14:55 GMT]
Representatives of the Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Police and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Trincomalee district Thursday agreed at a discussion held in the presence of monitors of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) to take steps to diffuse tension in the east port town and its suburbs to restore normalcy. The discussion was held at the SLMM office in Trincomalee at the initiative of the SLMM, sources said.
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"Colombo should stop elements inciting violence"- Thamilchelvan tells Brattskar

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 December 2004, 14:19 GMT]
"Incidents of violence in Trincomalee and elsewhere are the result of provocative actions of disruptive elements should be controlled by the government since they tend to create tension leading to public rioting" S.P. Thamilchelvan, Head of Liberation Tigers Political Wing told the Norwegian Ambassador Mr. Hans Brattskar in a meeting held at the LTTE Peace Secretariat in Kilinochchi. Thursday, sources from Vanni said.
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"Impending disaster is SL President's own making"- Jaffna daily

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 December 2004, 12:50 GMT]
''Sri Lanka's President Ms Kumaratunge has brought to the forefront of political influence ultra Sinhala Buddhist elements with the idea of seizing political power at no less a time when the onus of compulsive responsibility of finding solution to the ethnic problem stood cast on the government of Sri Lanka. It is Ms Kumaratunge who will have to singly take the blame if the present peace efforts fail owing to the hysteria unleashed by the chauvinistic forces whom she had elevated to the high plain of political influence,'' said popular Jaffna daily Uthayan in its Thursday editorial.
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Muzzling Parliamentary Speech will further estrangement- Premachandran

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 December 2004, 12:18 GMT]
''Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MPs participate in the Parliamentary procedures only because of their desire to promote amity between the two polarized peoples in Sri Lanka. But if the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and the opposition United National Party (UNP) members join forces to restrain free speech then it will be another step towards encouraging division of Sri Lanka,'' said Suresh Premachandran responding to attempts to curb privileges of TNA MPs in Sri Lanka's Parliament Wednesday, parliamentary sources in Colombo said.
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Mannar, Vavuniya paralysed by protest

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 December 2004, 05:35 GMT]
Vavuniya and Mannar towns were paralysed Thursday due to a general shut down (Hartal) called by several public organisations to protest against attacks on civilians by Sri Lankan armed forces. Protestors blocked roads and burnt tires in some parts of Vavuniya town Thursday morning. The A9 highway and the Omanthai entry/exit point in Omanthai, 15 kilometres north of Vavuniya were closed due to the hartal. There were no incidents in Mannar although the town was generally deserted, Police said.
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NGOs to hold International Day for People with Special Needs

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 December 2004, 04:13 GMT]
"More than 1500 residents of Vavuniya district are People with Special Needs. The number has increased due to new borns with defects, loss of function of limbs due to illness and due to injuries from two decades of war," said V Subramaniyam head of the Consortium of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Vavuniya during a press meet Wednesday held to announce holding of International Day for the People with Special Needs at the Vavuniya Municipal Hall on Thursday, civil sources said.
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Mannar, Vavuniya to observe general shutdown

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 December 2004, 17:00 GMT]
NorthEast Civil Society Forums appealed to businesses and residents fo districts of Vavuniya and Mannar to observe general shutdown Thursday in protest against the killings of two innocent Tamil youths in Valvettithurai in Jaffna, and assaults on members of public including one Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian during the Heroes Day celebrations, civil sources said.
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TNA appeals to India not to harm peace efforts

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 December 2004, 14:33 GMT]
''The prime need in Sri Lanka, today, is the peaceful resolution of the Tamil question. The Tamil people are confident that India will not act in a manner harmful to Tamil interests. The Tamil people appeal to Indian government that the conclusion of the Indo-Sri Lanka defence co-operation agreement, and the commencement of development activities in the North-East with the military dimension be not proceeded with, '' said a press release issued by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Wednesday.
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Srimani Athulathmudali dies

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 December 2004, 14:16 GMT]
Former Minister of Transport, environment and Women Affairs and wife of late Lalith Athulathmudali died after a brief illnesss in Colombo, media reports in Colombo said.
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UPFA ignoring critical national issues- Prof Peiris

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 December 2004, 12:09 GMT]
"Political parties in the South should recognize the "potentially dangerous" situation Sri Lanka is facing. The United National party (UNP) is ready to support any genuine steps the Government of Sri Lanka takes to resolve critical National issues faced by this country," said Prof G L Peiris Monday in Kandy after meeting Asgiriya Mahanayake Thera in Dalda Maligawa, sources said.
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UNP protests against UPFA's budget

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 December 2004, 11:49 GMT]
Hundreds of supporters of United National Party (UNP) and many of its senior parliamentarians held a protest march against the Sri Lanka's budget, the price increases of essential goods and the increase of an hour in the working day, sources from Colombo said. The protest march started from Rajagiriya junction and moved towards the parliament square.
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