NorthEast mourns for Raviraj

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 November 2006, 16:51 GMT]
The people of Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mulaithivu, Mannar, Vavuniya, Batticaloa, Amparai and Trincomalee districts observed hartal (general shut down) Wednesday mourning the loss of Raviraj, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian allegedly assassinated by Eelam People Democratic Party (EPDP) cadres operating with the Sri Lankan Army (SLA). The shut down was organized to condemn Raviraj's assassination and the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) artilery fire killing of nearly forty-two Tamil civilians including children in Vaharai in Batticaloa.
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Jaffna pilgrims from Madhu stay in Mannar welfare centers

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 November 2006, 10:58 GMT]
More than 700 Jaffna pilgrims who returned from Madhu church after three months to go to their own villages in peninsula have been sheltered in two places in the government controlled areas in Mannar town till transport arrangements are made, civil sources said.
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Heavy rain inundates Mannar villages

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 November 2006, 10:57 GMT]
Siluvainagar area in Talaimannar police division is under water due to torrential rain and about 50 families have been evacuated. The displaced have sought refuge with relatives elswhere, and some have been given temporary shelter by the local non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), civil society sources in Mannar said. The NGOs, Sarvodhaya and Oxfam, have been supplying cooked meals and other assistance to the displaced on the instruction of Mannar Divisional Secretary Ms Stanley de Mel.
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Three SLA troopers killed in claymore attack in Mannar

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 November 2006, 14:20 GMT]
Unidentified persons detonated a claymore device Tuesday afternoon killing three Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers at Mathottam area in Uylankulam Murungan in Mannar district, Murungan police said.


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Three day shut down in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 November 2006, 09:24 GMT]
All shops, schools, banks, public and private institutions remained closed and all transport ceased for the third day Monday as residents of Vavuniya district observed complete shut down condemning the assassination of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Jaffna Parliamentarian Raviraj and in protest against the Sri Lanka government's (GoSL) economic embargo on the Jaffna peninsula by the closure of A9 landroute.


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Stranded pilgrims in Madhu taken to Mannar

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 November 2006, 12:30 GMT]
Six hundred of the more than 1000 pilgrims from Jaffna, stranded in Madhu after the close of the A9, were taken to Mannar town in busses organized by the Mannar District Government Agent, Mr.V.Visuvalingam Friday morning through Uyilankulam check point, sources in Mannar said.
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SLMM head visits Mannar

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 November 2006, 11:26 GMT]
The head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Major General Lars Johan Solvberg, Thursday afternoon around 12:30 p.m. arrived in Mannar by land and held discussions with SLMM monitors in Mannar district office. The discussion centred on the ground situation prevailing in the district. He left Mannar to Colombo around 1:30 p.m. the same day, sources said.
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Assassination attempts on two civilians fail in Mannar

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 November 2006, 08:25 GMT]
Unidentified armed men following a Tamil trader and a youth in the Nanattan division in Mannar fired at them missing hitting the intended victims in two separate incidents , Sunday sources in Mannar said.


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SLMM Head, visiting Pooneryn, comes under artillery fire

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 November 2006, 10:04 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) fired artillery shells crossed over the Head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Major General Lars Johan Sølvberg and his delegation who were visiting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Pooneryn jetty Wednesday evening to undertake a feasibiity study on Colombo's latest suggestion in opening Pooneryin Sangupitty Road as an alternative to A9. SLA fired artillery shells exploded 200 meters behind in Pooneryn jetty area while the delegation was visiting the site for inspection around 3:15 p.m. The Norwegian Major General returned safely, LTTE officials told TamilNet. While returning, artillery shells exploded at 20 meter distance.
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Governor rejects appeals from trapped Jaffna workers

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 November 2006, 01:07 GMT]
Rear Admiral (Retd) Mohan Wijeyawickrema, Governor of the North East Province (NEP), rejected Tuesday an appeal made by government employees including teachers from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held areas, now trapped in the Jaffna peninsula with the closure of A9 route since August 11, to let them stay in the peninsula due to unsafe conditions in their places of work, said civil sources from Jaffna.
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Mannar women complain of body searches by SLA male soldiers

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 November 2006, 09:36 GMT]
In a complaint made to the Mannar Consortium of Humanitarian Organisations (CHO), Tamil women in Mannar said that Sri Lanka Army (SLA) male soldiers routinely conduct body searches on their way to Chetiyar Kaddai at Adampan, sources said. Body search by opposite sex amounts to rights violation and "sexual assault," said human rights officials in Mannar.


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Rehabilitation centre for drug addicts opened in Mannar

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 November 2006, 01:31 GMT]
A rehabilitation centre for drug and alcohol addicts was opened at Thottaveli in Erukalampiddy division in Mannar district Monday by Reverend Father A. Victor Soosai, Mannar Diocese Head. The centre was established due to the sustained efforts taken by Mannar Bishop Rt.Rev.Rayappu Joseph.
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Body washed ashore, buried in Mannar

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 November 2006, 01:14 GMT]
The body of an unidentified male person washed ashore in Talaimannar coast Sunday was buried at the government expense Monday on the orders of the Mannar Additional Magistrate Mr.T.J.Pirapaharan, legal sources in Mannar said.
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Braving sea of perils

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 November 2006, 01:11 GMT]
The abundance of fish stock in Mullaitivu seas has provided a life line to fisher families from littoral villages dotting 70km Mullaitivu coast stretching from Kokkilai in the south to Iranaipalai in the north. Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has occupied 13km of this coastline from Kokkilai to Nayaaru from 1985. Although fall of SLA's Mullaitivu garrison to Liberation Tigers in 1996 brought relief to fisher families, continued harassment by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and threats from the SLA camps in the southern coast of the district continue to plague fisher families who brave the seas to earn a living.
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Father of five shot dead in Mannar

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 November 2006, 16:07 GMT]
A 39-year old resident of Periyamurippu village in Mannar district, and a father of five children, was shot dead by unidentified persons Friday morning, sources in Mannar said. The victim's body was found near the suspension bridge along Madhu Road to Kunchukulam road.
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Mannar Tamil youth arrested in Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 November 2006, 10:26 GMT]
Twenty seven year old Tamil youth Joseph Kumar Ramanakumar , a resident of Uppukulam, a village in Mannar district was arrested by the Slave Island Police in Colombo district on October 31 morning. The Colombo Fort Magistrate remanded him till November 06 when he was produced in court by the Slave Island Police.
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Health emergency in Mannar as virus fever spreads

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 November 2006, 17:14 GMT]
A virus fever is spreading fast in Mannar district and daily hundreds of persons affected by the fever are seeking treatment in the Mannar general hospital and private medical institutions, health officials in Mannar said. Mannar General hospital is overflowing with the large influx of affected civilians, hospital sources said.
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Detained Indian fishermen to launch hunger strike

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 November 2006, 16:24 GMT]
About fifteen Indian fishermen currently detentioned in Anuradhapura remand prison informed Mannar court Thursday that they would start a hunger-strike if the authorities fail to release them immediately, legal sources in Anuradhapura said. The fishermen have been indicted with poaching in the territorial water of Sri Lanka.
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Governor rejects appeals from stranded Government employees

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 November 2006, 12:13 GMT]
Rear Admiral (Retd) Mohan Wijeyawickrema, Governor of the North East Province, rejected appeals from more than one thousand Tamil government employees stranded in Jaffna peninsula for the past three months to allow them to work in the province as an interim measure, civil society sources in Jaffna said Thursday.
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Fisherman killed, another injured in SLN attack in Mullaithivu sea

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 November 2006, 12:01 GMT]
A fisherman fishing in Silavattai Sea in Mullaithivu district was killed and another injured when Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) attacked them around 6:00 a.m. Sunday, Fisheries Society sources said.
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