Century old Hindu temple chariot vandalized in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 02 August 2003, 02:56 GMT]
Cultural vandalism is again on the increase in Jaffna district and the managements of Hindu temples in the peninsula have taken precautionary measures to safeguard several centuries' old antiques and artifacts, made of gold and other metals, and other art works made of wood in their temples, cultural authorities said.
Full story >>

Black Tigers’ day celebrations in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 July 2003, 15:17 GMT]
The Black Tigers’ day was celebrated in the Trincomalee district Saturday, with the opening of a memorial at Sampur village in the LTTE controlled Muttur east for Black Tiger cadres from the Trncomalee district, by the Trincomalee district area commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Colonel Pathuman, as the main event in the morning, sources said.
Full story >>

CWC to protest against Upper Kotmale Project

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 June 2003, 11:31 GMT]
Housing and Estate Infrastructure Minister and President of Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), Arumugam Thondaman, said Wednesday that CWC is organizing a protest rally calling for the abandonment of the Upper Kotmale Hydro Power Project on the 23 June in Nuwareliya District, according to local reports.


Full story >>

‘Let my people lead normal lives’

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 June 2003, 20:01 GMT]
“My people have endured great agony and suffering for twenty years. Let them lead normal lives like those in other parts of the country”, the Bishop of Mannar, Rt. Rev. Rayappu Joseph told a delegation of Sri Lankan armed forces and officials that is on a fact finding visit to the district on the island’s northwestern coast Tuesday. “It is imperative that they shouldn’t be made to wait any longer for their rightful share of the peace dividend which everyone outside the northeast has enjoyed for more than an year”, the Bishop said.
Full story >>

Educational institution for school drop-outs opens

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 June 2003, 09:20 GMT]
"In addition to teachers, parents involvement is also paramount in nuturing and providing the right environment for education of children," said S. Mohanasundaram, president of Educational Development Organization, participating as the chief guest at the opening ceremony of the school for reintroducing school drop-outs back into the Government school system, in the LTTE controlled area of Vakarai-Periyathattumunai village in Batticaloa district sponsored by the UNICEF, education sources said.
Full story >>

LTTE releases two Sri Lankan police constables

[TamilNet, Saturday, 31 May 2003, 13:48 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Saturday handed over two Sri Lankan police constables who were in its custody to the Muttur Assistant Superintendent of Police D.Samarakone and Serunuwara Assistant Superintendent of Police Mr.Ajith Rohana near Kattaiparichchan Bridge in the presence of members of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), security sources said.


Full story >>

‘SARS patient’ died of pneumonia – state media

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 May 2003, 09:27 GMT]
The suspected SARS patient who died in Jaffna hospital Wednesday morning was suffering from pneumonia, Sri Lankan state media reported Friday. “This patient is believed to have died of a typical pneumonia with secondary infection,” the Daily News quoted a ‘senior health official’ as saying.
Full story >>

Self-employment training center opened in Vakarai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 May 2003, 01:39 GMT]
"Our senior commander Karuna is determined to organize development projects that would provide immediate self-employment and economic benefits to our people living in war affected areas. This sewing training center is being opened on his direction," said LTTE military commander of Aandan Kulam, V. Regi, opening the Lt. Chandra Training center in Kandaladi, Vakarai, Wednesday, said sources.
Full story >>

Meeting resolves to prevent communal unease in Musali

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 May 2003, 13:07 GMT]
Representatives of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, the Catholic Church, the Liberation Tigers, Sri Lanka Police, several civil society groups and local community leaders met Saturday in Murunkan in the Mannar District to discuss measures to promote and cement Tamil, Muslim amity in the Musali region. Tension prevailed in the area last month following the murder of a Tamil farmer allegedly by a Muslim believed to be an ex home guard. Musali is in the southwestern part of mainland Mannar where Muslim refugees have been resettling and cultivating their lands since last year.
Full story >>

JVP demonstrators condemn Muttur violence

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 April 2003, 15:02 GMT]
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a Sinhala nationalist opposition party in Sri Lanka that espouses radical Marxism, held a demonstration Friday afternoon at Lipton Square, in downtown Colombo, condemning the violence in Muttur in the East against Muslims and demanding that Norwegian monitors should be ‘thrown out’ of the country to safeguard the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the island, sources said.
Full story >>

Church farm helps dispossessed, poor

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 April 2003, 03:30 GMT]
The Methodist Church’s Jeevothayam Farm in Pariyaarikkandal, 28 kilometres southeast of Mannar town, has been a refuge for the dispossessed and the meek for more than quarter of a century. Tamils driven out of their homes in the island’s tea producing hills by Sinhala Buddhist nationalists in 1977, 81 and 83 found succour here before they went forth to settle and multiply in the inhospitable jungles of the Vanni.
Full story >>

Impact and Issues of Forestry on Northeast Coastal Resources

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 March 2003, 23:00 GMT]
There is an urgent need for protection of mangroves, estuarine and swamp forest/vegetation as important components of the northeast coastal resources of Sri Lanka together with fisheries, coral reefs, seagrass, beaches and sand dunes, amongst others if we are to preserve the environment of Northeast for future generations. An examination of forestry issues that impact the conservation and management of North East coastal resources follows.
Full story >>

Jaffna library opening put off as Mayor, councilors resign

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 February 2003, 21:25 GMT]
All twenty one members of the Jaffna Municipal Council led by Mayor Mr.Sellan Kandian Thursday tendered their resignation in protest to the pressure exerted on them by some organizations to put off the opening of the renovated Jaffna public library scheduled to be held on February 14, Friday, sources said.
Full story >>

Sri Lanka Buddhist monks oppose peace deal

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 January 2003, 18:45 GMT]
Hundreds of Buddhist monks Tuesday vowed to remove Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s government if it did not listen to their exhortations against a peace deal with the Liberation Tigers. More than two thousand protestors, led by the ‘Federation of Bikkhus to Rescue the Motherland’, a large umbrella organisation of Buddhist monks, gathered at the Nugegoda Junction, a busy intersection in one of Colombo’s crowded suburbs, Tuesday afternoon to condemn Colombo’s peace negotiations with the LTTE.


Full story >>

Towards building a next generation voice/data network for NorthEast

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 January 2003, 02:18 GMT]
Building a state of the art Telecommunication infrastructure for North East is vital for development, industrial growth, advancement in education, general economic progress and to maintain a competitive edge in a global business environment. With the emergence of a new political configuration, NorthEast administration is rightly positioned to consider building a well designed communication network to connect the NorthEast with the rest of the globe. This article provides technical possibilites and key strategies to consider when designing such network.
Full story >>

Buddhist monks burn Norwegian flag

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 December 2002, 00:22 GMT]
National Bhikkhu Front (Jathika Sanga Sammelanaya- JSS), a Sinhala nationalist organisation of monks with branches in all the Sinhala majority districts of the island and a close ally of the marxist Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) held a demonstration opposite Royal Norwegian Embassy in Colombo demanding the expulsion of Oslo's envoy to Sri Lanka, Mr. Jon Westborg, sources in Colombo said.


Full story >>

Government aid for Batticaloa flood victims, Rs.36

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 December 2002, 06:27 GMT]
People displaced by floods in Batticaloa are being given dry rations worth thirty six rupees for three days, and the victims, mainly very poor families who depend on meagre income from day labour, are unable to return to their flood damaged homes and are languishing in temporary shelters in schools and public buildings, sources in Batticaloa said.
Full story >>

Shelter lacking for victims of floods in Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 December 2002, 18:42 GMT]
The floods during the past few days in the Kilinochchi district have destroyed 46 homes in the Anaivilunthan area and residents have sought refuge in the only school in the area, but as the roof of the school has been damaged they are without proper shelter, officials in Kilinochchi said.
Full story >>

Heroes memorial opened in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 26 November 2002, 01:57 GMT]
The Heroes memorial constructed at Mahajana College hall displaying 4535 photos of LTTE members killed in the war was declared open at 9am Monday by Batticaloa-Ampara LTTE special commander Ramesh allowing the public to pay their respect, said sources in Batticaloa.
Full story >>

Maveerar Day celebrations for the first time in Batticaloa town

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 November 2002, 16:12 GMT]
The ‘Maveerar Naal’ (Heroes Day) will be observed in Batticaloa town for the first time this year. The Mahajana College, where the LTTE leader V. Pirapaharan had his primary education (1960-63), has been chosen as the venue for the observance, LTTE sources said.
Full story >>