NorthEast to shutdown as Colombo fails to withdraw troops from Trinco

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 June 2005, 19:16 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians, Representatives of Trincomalee District Tamil People's Forum (TDTPF) and other Tamil civil groups, in a meeting held Thursday, decided to hold a one-day general shut down in NorthEast protesting the continued presence of Sri Lanka troops in Trincomalee town despite the assurance given by the Ministerial team that troops will be withdrawn by Thursday, TNA sources said.
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Minibus carrying students escapes landmine blast

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 June 2005, 12:18 GMT]
A minibus carrying more than 70 students travelling to participate in Tamileelam Students Uprising Day in Kaludavalai from LTTE controlled Pankudaveli in Batticaloa narrowly escaped a Claymore landmine attack at 8.30 AM on Thursday. The incident took place 100 meters from a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) checkpoint at Koduvamadu in Chenkallady-Badulla Road.
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SLA, Police agree to remove Buddha statue in Omanthai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 June 2005, 00:31 GMT]
After a visit to the Omanthai Pillaiyar Temple grounds Wednesday by Vanni district parliamentarians Mr.Selvam Adaikalanathan, Mr.Sivasakthi Ananthan and Mr.Sivanathan Kishore and LTTE Vavuniya district deputy political head Mr.Dharmendra accompanied by Vavuniya Police Officer in charge Mr. Abeyasinghe Bandara, TNA parliamentarian Adaikalanathan said that the Police and the Army have agreed to remove the Buddha statue from the Hindu temple grounds, sources in Vavuniya said.
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Vanni journalists protest Sivaram killing

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 May 2005, 12:32 GMT]
A large number of journalists and several Vavuniya residents took part in a demonstration Tuesday organised by Vanni Journalists Association, condemning the abduction and murder of Tamil political columnist and military analysts, Mr. Dharmeratnam Sivaram in Colombo on 29 April. Vanni District Parliamentarians Sivanathan Kishore, Sivasakthi Aananthan, Selvam Adikalanathan and Vino Nokarathalingam, also participated.
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TNA MPs protest, demand inquiry into Sivaram’s murder

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 May 2005, 05:47 GMT]
Tamil Nation Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians held a demonstration at Jeyanthipura Junction and marched to the Parliament Ground, Wednesday, protesting aginst the abduction and murder of leading Tamil journalist Mr.D.Sivaram, last week. The MPs demanded Sri Lanka’s President to hold an impartial inquiry to identify the killers.
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Funeral of Sivaram held in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 May 2005, 10:13 GMT]
Murdered Tamil journalist Mr D Sivaram's funeral rites began at his family home in Lady Manning Drive, Batticaloa Monday afternoon after his body was taken to LTTE controlled Karadiyan Aaru earlier in the day. The body of Mr.Sivaram is now being taken to the cemetery in Aalayadichcholai, which lies in a High Security Zone of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF). The funeral procession is escorted by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and Police. Representatives of the SLMM are also following, TamilNet correspondent in the eastern town said.
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Karuna Group cadre shot dead in Valaichenai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 April 2005, 07:02 GMT]
A youth believed to be a Karuna Group cadre was killed by an unidentified gunman Thursday around 11.30 a.m. in Valaichenai, 32 kilometres north of Batticaloa. He was gunned down on the Valaichenai Kalkudah road, according Police.
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Man shot in Batticaloa suburb

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 April 2005, 11:17 GMT]
A man was shot and critically injured in Thiraimadu Colony, an outer suburb of Batticaloa town Tuesday close to midnight, Police said. He was identified as Mr. Selvamani Yogeswaran, 36. ‘The cause for the shooting is not clear but could be paramilitary related’, according to Police sources in Batticaloa. Two men who went to his house Tuesday night had called Mr. Selvamani out and shot him.
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Media watchdog says JVP inciting violence against journalists

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 April 2005, 16:20 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s main press watchdog, Free Media Movement FMM, Tuesday expressed grave concern that a speech by Mr. Wimal Weerawansa, the powerful propaganda secretary of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), could incite violence against journalists and media institutions. In a letter addressed to the Patriotic National Movement, a JVP affiliate which organized the meeting where Mr. Weerawansa spoke, FMM said “stop this hate campaign your organisation has launched against journalists and media institutions and to keep criticisms within the limits of democratic freedoms."
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Kumaratunga urged to organise ship service for Tamil returnees from India

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 April 2005, 15:07 GMT]
Mr.Selvam Adaikalanathan, Vanni district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian appealed Monday to Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunge to take immediate steps to arrange a ship for the transportation of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees from South India to Sri Lanka. The refugees frequently risk their lives by illegal travel from Thanushkodi in South India to Talaimannar in Sri Lanka- a stretch of 18 km sea- in their anxiety to return to their motherland, the MP said.
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Thousands march in Vavuniya for peace

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 April 2005, 08:35 GMT]
More than three thousand people marched through Vavuniya town Monday demanding that the government of Sri Lanka restart the long stalled peace talks with the Liberation Tigers, set up a joint mechanism for Tsunami relief in the island's northeast and stop using its paramilitaries to attack LTTE activists . A public rally was held on the Vavuniya Urban Council grounds at the conclusion of the march. The march and rally were organised by 84 civil society groups in Vavuniya.
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Thousands of Tsunami refugees stranded in rains

[TamilNet, Sunday, 03 April 2005, 19:19 GMT]
Thousands of tents in which Tamil and Muslim Tsunami refugees are sheltered in the Batticaloa-Amparai districts were flooded following non-seasonal rains in the region Sunday. Tsunami refugees in several camps on the eastern and southeastern coast said that they have no place to sleep tonight because of the rains. “The tent floors are wet or flooded. Mats and sheets on which refugee children sleep have got soggy with the unexpected rains”, said Mr. A. K Thavarajah, Divisional Secretary for Thirukkovil, speaking about the situation in Mandaanai, the largest Tsunami refugee camp in the Amparai district.
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Protesting Muslims cook on highway in Maruthamunai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 March 2005, 14:26 GMT]
Thousands Muslims who lost their homes when the Tsunami hit Maruthamunai, 35 kilometres south of Batticaloa, blocked the main highway to Kalmunai Tuesday protesting against the Government of Sri Lanka for not helping them rebuild their houses. Entire coastal suburbs of this densely populated Muslim town were flattened by the surging sea. The protestors erected tents and cooked on the road. Only the JVP and three Islamic groups had put up some temporary shelters for them, the protestors said. Streets were deserted and the usually busy town was shut down.
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Tamil MPs protest march in Sri Lanka Parliament

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 February 2005, 08:26 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance MP marched on the driveway to the Sri Lankan Parliament carrying placards condemning Colombo for failing to avail itself of the cease fire with the Liberation Tigers signed three years ago. “Do not buy weapons with Tsunami aid”, “Disarm the paramilitaries”, “Don’t divide the Muslims and Tamils”, read some of the placards. The march and demo were led by senior Tamil Parliamentarians Mr. R. Sampanthan, Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, Mr. Mavai Senathirajah and Mr. Selvam Adaikalanathan.


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North preschool teachers killed in Tsunami remembered

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 February 2005, 16:34 GMT]
Sixtieth day remembrance of pre-school teachers and children died in the tsunami disaster in the coastal areas of Vadamaradchchi east division in the districts of Jaffna and Mullaitivu and the distribution of bicycles to tsunami affected pre-school teachers were held in the Mullaitivu district office of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) sponsored by the TRO and funded by Norway TRO under the auspices of the North East Pre-School Development Centre (NEPSDC) Wednesday morning, sources said.
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Mannar Bishop writes to LTTE over shooting at sea

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 February 2005, 13:24 GMT]
Mannar Bishop, Rt. Rev. Rayappu Joseph, wrote to the Liberation Tigers Saturday regarding the incident at sea near Vidathaltheevu in which armed persons believed to be Sea Tigers fired on the boats of fishermen from Pallimunai, a coastal suburb of Mannar town, damaging the boats. Angered by the incident, a group fishermen from Pallimunai attacked and damaged the LTTE's political office in Mannar town Friday.
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Grenade attack on Mannar LTTE political office, one dead

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 February 2005, 14:54 GMT]
Two civilians and an LTTE political worker were wounded when unidentified persons lobbed a grenade at the Liberation Tigers' political office in Mannar town Saturday night around 7.45 PM. Mannar hospital sources said one civilian identified as M. Callister (32) who was admitted at the Mannar Hospital succumbed to wounds.
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Jaffna, Vavuniya shut down in hartal, protesters clash with SLA

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 February 2005, 10:05 GMT]
The entire districts of Jaffna and Vavuniya Saturday came to a standstill following a general shut down, condemning the killings of Mr.Kousalyan, LTTE political head for Batticaloa Amparai district, his colleagues and Mr.Chandra Nehru, former Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian for Amparai district. In several areas civilians blocked roads and burnt tyres. Clashes took place at the junctions of Puttur and Kaithady in Thenmaradchchi division in Jaffna district Saturday afternoon between groups of civilians and soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army when the latter attempted to remove the roadblocks. Soldiers fled from their sentry points when the angered civilians threw stones at them.
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Violence endangering CFA stability, TNA tells Akashi

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 February 2005, 15:10 GMT]
"The violence unleashed against senior LTTE cadres and others on Monday the 7th in government controlled territory situated between two Army Camps, and in an area which has a strong armed forces presence, has raised grave questions in regard to the continued stability of the ceasefire," the Tamil National Alliance delegation led by its parliamentary group leader Mr Sampanthan told Mr Yasushi Akashi, the special envoy of the Japanese Government, when they met him Friday, a press release issued by the TNA in Colombo said.
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Emergency is prelude to war - Vanni MP

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 February 2005, 06:07 GMT]
“You are reintroducing Emergency Regulations (ER) to wage on the Tamil people so that you can cling on to power. The emergency is not for the south. It is for oppressing the Tamil people in the northeast with an iron fist as you did in the past. You need war to stay in power. It is the only way for you to deal with the political and economic crisis in which you are engulfed today. You killed Kousalyan to provoke the Tigers to war. You expect the Tigers to rise to the bait”, said Mr. Selvam Adaikalanathan, Tamil National Alliance MP for Vanni, addressing President Kumaratunga’s government during the debate on Emergency in Parliament Friday.
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