Police sexual assault on student sparks protest in Mannar

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 February 2005, 15:17 GMT]
Hundreds of people protested against Sri Lanka Police in Thaalvupaadu, a coastal village near Mannar town Friday evening, demanding action against constables who had sexually assaulted and grievously injured a school boy. The seriously injured student was admitted to Mannar hospital and then rushed to Vavuniya as his condition was serious.
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NE Athletic Federation formed

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 February 2005, 21:14 GMT]
The Athletic Federation of North East Province was inaugurated Saturday in Killinochchi. Representatives from eight District Athletic Association attended the inaugural meeting with Mr.K.Paapa, Head of the Tamileelam Sports Department as the chief guest. Federations for Football, Netball, Karate and Cricket Council for the North East Province would also be formed before the end of February, Mr.Paapa said at the event, sources said.
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Sri Lanka Navy rescues abandoned refugees

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 February 2005, 11:53 GMT]
Seventeen refugees rescued by Sri Lanka Navy from a sandbank at mid sea were produced in the Mannar court Monday. Indian refugee runners who had promised to illegally ferry them to Mannar abandoned them on one of the shifting sandbanks of the Adam’s Bridge in the early hours of Saturday morning. Mannar magistrate released the refugees.


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Incidents of typhoid increase in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 February 2005, 12:06 GMT]
Vavuniya district Deputy Commissioner of Health Services, A Ketheeswaran, has warned the residents of the district to take precautions against spread of typhoid in the district. He disclosed that there were positive identification of 14 cases in November, 20 in December and a three fold increase to 72 in December, civil sources in Vavuniya said.
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Black flags flown in Northeast on Sri Lanka's Independence Day

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 February 2005, 06:10 GMT]
Black flags were hoisted in many parts of the Sri Lanka's northeast in protest against the country's independence day. Jaffna University students flew black flags and decorated University's main entrance with curry plantain trees which are used by Tamils at funerals. Sri Lanka army soldiers were deployed in the area, as the military beefed up security in many parts of the northern peninsula. Sri Lankan Army and the Police were seen removing black flags in Vavuniya town.
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TNA slams NE Governor’s visit to Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 February 2005, 07:20 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance Wednesday boycotted a meeting with Governor of the Northeast Province, Mr. Tyronne Fernando, at the Vavuniya district secretariat in protest against what the TNA described as “gross discrimination by the Sri Lankan state in delivering Tsunami aid to Tamil and Muslim areas affected by the disaster”. At the meeting, Government Agents for Kilinochchi and Mullaithivu informed the Governor that no heavy machinery for clearing Tsunami destruction was sent to their districts.
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Earth tremor in Mannar evokes fears of tsunami

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 January 2005, 13:39 GMT]
An earth tremor in Muthariputhurai village, located 15 km north west of Murungan in Mannar, forced 1800 residents to move to safer areas of Potkerni, Sirukandal and Pariharikandal to spend the night Friday, sources in Mannar said. Offical Sri Lanka Government agencies have not yet acknowledge the incident in Muthariputhurai, sources added.
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Ex-PoW brings relief supplies to Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 January 2005, 14:55 GMT]
Former Captain of Sri Lanka naval ship "Sagarawardene," Captain Ajith Boyagoda, brought relief supplies on behalf of the President of Ceylinco Corporation Dr.Lalith Kotalawela to Kilinochchi Wednesday, sources in Kilinochchi said.
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22 Mullaitivu schools used as Welfare Centers- GA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 January 2005, 12:26 GMT]
Out of the twenty three welfare centers in Mullaitivu district, all except one are located in schools in areas unaffected by the tsunmai, and there is an urgent need to relocate these centers to allow schools to function normally, said Emelda Sukumar, Government Agent of Mullaitivu district when TamilNet talked to her Tuesday.
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Macroeconomic approach should govern reconstruction - Don

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 January 2005, 00:53 GMT]
Professor V. Nithyanantham of the Dept. of Economics, Jaffna University, talking to TamilNet on the socio-economic setting in NorthEast and problems facing the residents in the post Tsunami period, said that planners should adopt a macro-economic approach to reconstruction taking into account relevant humanitarian and social factors.
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Vanni TNA MPs oppose army take over of refugee camps

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 January 2005, 11:00 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Vanni district parliamentarians vehemently protested against the directive of the President to hand over the management of welfare centres where Tsunami victims are sheltered to the State armed forces at a conference held at the Vavuniya district secretariat Thursday with Mr.Tyronne Fernando, North east Provincial Governor in the chair, sources 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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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