Consecration of Deputy Bishop held in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 May 2008, 00:46 GMT]
The Episcopal Ordination of the Bishop-elect Msgr. Joseph Ponniah was held Saturday afternoon at St. Mary's Co-Cathedral, Batticaloa by His Lordship Most Rev. Dr. Kinglsey Swampillai, the Bishop of Trincomalee-Batticaloa, sources in Batticaloa said.
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Kaaththaankudi returns to normalcy

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 May 2008, 00:25 GMT]
The turbulent town of Kaaththaankudi in Batticaloa district is slowly returning to normalcy since the violent clashes and killings on Thursday and the business establishments and the markets in the area have once again started functioning, sources said.
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Two Muslim youths abducted in Kalladi, tension prevails in Kaaththaankudi, Aaraiyampathi

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 May 2008, 00:19 GMT]
Paramilitary personnel of Pillayan group abducted two Muslim youths Thursday afternoon 1:00 p.m. in Kalladi area, within Batticaloa police division. The victims, residents of Ea’raavoor had gone to Kalladi to pay electricity bills when they were abducted.
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Curfew in Kaaththaankudi, Aaraiyampathi lifted

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 May 2008, 13:39 GMT]
The curfew imposed in Kaaththaankudi and Aaraiyampathi areas in Batticaloa district Thursday, following the killings of three Muslims in revenge by paramilitary and the slaying of a key operative of the TMVP Pillayan group, was removed Friday around 6:00 a.m. Tension continues in the areas as final rites of the victims were held in their respective religious cemeteries while all shops, government and private institutions remained closed, sources in Batticaloa said.
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Batticaloa Bishop holds meeting to defuse tension

[TamilNet, Thursday, 22 May 2008, 21:39 GMT]
A special conference was held Thursday afternoon 5:00 p.m.at the residence of Batticaloa Bishop’s to ease the tension prevailing in Kaaththaankudi, Batticaloa District in the aftermath of Thursday morning shooting incidents in the area that has so far claimed the lives of five men, sources in Batticaloa said.
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Muslims shot dead in revenge by paramilitary after the killing of key operative

[TamilNet, Thursday, 22 May 2008, 10:30 GMT]
Following the killing of a key paramilitary operative Shanthan and his associate of the TMVP Pillayan Group in the Muslim town of Kaaththaankudi around 11:40 a.m. Thursday, gunmen from the paramilitary group opened fire on Muslim travelers in the pre-dominant Tamil village Aaraiyampathi, 1.5 km south of the Muslim town, killing three Muslims, Police said. Four persons, including two Sinhalese were wounded. Tension prevails in Kaaththaankudi and Araiyampathi. Sri Lankan police and Special Task Force commandos have been deployed in the area. A local curfew was imposed and additional forces were sent to the border village, Police said.
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Brigadier Balraj passes away - LTTE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 May 2008, 15:32 GMT]
Brigadier Balraj, a senior and a special commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE), passed away Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. of a sudden heart attack in Vanni, LTTE's Head Quarters said. Brigadier Balraj was the first commander of the LTTE's conventional fighting formation, Charles Antony Brigade, established in 1991 and he served as a key commander in LTTE's major operations, including the LTTE operation on the SLA garrison in Elephant Pass in year 2000. The LTTE leadership has announced national mourning for three days on 21, 22 and 23rd of May.
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Cooperative store owner abducted in Vadamaraadchi

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 May 2008, 11:33 GMT]
Owner of a co-operative store in Udupiddi in Vadamaraadchy was abducted by unidentified men arriving in a white van Saturday at 8:45 a.m. according to a complaint filed by his relatives with the offices of Jaffna Human Rights Commission (JHRC), an official at JHRC, Mr S Sivarajah said.
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Displaced Muslim civilian abducted in Puththa'lam

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 May 2008, 15:58 GMT]
A Muslim civilian, Mohamed Yoosuf, 60, displaced from Mannaar and being sheltered in welfare centre located in Karaitheevu in Vannaathivillu police division in Puththalam district was abducted by unidentified men in a white van Friday night, according to complaints lodged with the Vannathivilu police station.
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Foundation stone laid for Kaaththaankudi hospital

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 May 2008, 13:24 GMT]
The foundation stone for the reconstruction project of district hospital in Kaaththaankudi, Batticaloa district, which was severely damaged during 2005 Tsunami, was laid Saturday jointly by Jegath Abeyasinghe, President of Sri Lanka Red Cross Society and Nimal Kumara, the secretary, sources in Batticaloa said.
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Hisbulla supporters assault senior journalist in Kaaththaankudi

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 May 2008, 12:15 GMT]
Supporters of M.L.A.M. Hisbulla, the successful United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance (UPFA) candidate in Eastern Provincial Council, (EPC) assaulted the senior journalist T. L. Jawferkan and another journalist at Hisbulla’s Kaaththaankudi office Monday around 1:15 p.m, seriously injuring Jawferkan who was rushed to Kaaththaankudi hospital, sources in Kaaththaankudi said.
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Kaaththaankudi shuts down in support of Hizbullah

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 May 2008, 10:29 GMT]
Muslims in Kaaththaankudi on Saturday observed a protest shut down against the decision by the Sri Lanka's president Mahinda Rajapaksa in appointing the chief minister for the Eastern Province. Shops were shut down and mosques remained closed expressing support for M.L.A.M. Hizbullah, the Muslim candidate for the Chief Minister portfolio, despite requests to keep the mosques open for prayers. Meanwhile, at least 8 Muslim persons were attacked by Pillayan group paramilitary personnel, sources in Batticaloa said.
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Police constable shot dead in Kalladi, Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 May 2008, 08:32 GMT]
Unknown gunmen riding in a motorcycle shot and killed a 32-year-old Sri Lankan Police Constable, W. Asanka, at Kalladi in Kaaththaankudi police division Friday around 10:00 a.m., Police said.
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SLMC supporters’ homes set on fire in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 May 2008, 01:56 GMT]
Unidentified armed men, alleged to be supporters of the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPAF), set ablaze Friday early morning 4:00 a.m. two homes belonging to the supporters of Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) in Kaangkeayanoadai within the administrative area of Aaarayampathi in Batticaloa district, the owners of the residences stated in a complaint lodged at Kaathaankudi police.
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World Vision staffer abducted in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 May 2008, 13:22 GMT]
Unidentified men in a white van, alleged to be Karuna group men, abducted Sunday morning the security officer working with World Vision in Batticaloa at Nochchimunai as he was returning after duty, sources in Batticaloa said. World Vision in Batticaloa, and abductee's relatives appealed to the abductors to release him on humanitarian grounds.
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We will restore democracy to Eastern province – Wickremesinghe

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 May 2008, 13:58 GMT]
“United National Party (UNP), Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) alliance will restore democracy to the East by putting an end to the domination by paramilitary groups,” Ranil Wickremasinghe, the Leader of the Opposition and UNP head said Sunday addressing a SLMC party conference held in Kaaththaankudi attended by more than 10,000 Muslims from the north, east provinces, sources in Batticaloa said.
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SLA occupation of Madu, triggers fears of renewed Sinhalicisation

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 April 2008, 17:42 GMT]
The Madu Road junction located on Mannaar-Madawachchi Road, which branches off the main route to Madu shrine, situated in the middle of traditional Tamil area, became the center of a Sinhala settlement in the 1970s. The Sri Lanka Government had the agenda of transforming the area into a full-fledged Sinhala colony, by using the lands of a cashew farm between the Madu Shrine and the junction. However, the settlement was later abandoned, fearing repercussions following large-scale massacre and arson committed by the Sri Lanka Army in December 1984 after a landmine blast. The spectre of a Sinhalicised Madu area has now become a dangerous new reality with SLA's occupation of Madu shrine.
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Journalists Sivaram, Rajivarman remembered in Nelliyadi

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 April 2008, 14:17 GMT]
“We raise our voices aloud demanding freedom of media despite the prevailing dangerous atmosphere. We join our hands with our media friends worldwide, and raise our hands along with them in the demand for the freedom of media,” the North Ceylon Journalists Association (NCJA) said in a message during a lunch offering Sunday to the elders and children in Nelliyadi Paramaananthaa Ashram, Home for the Aged and Children, held in remembrance of late TamilNet Senior Editor "Taraki" Sivaram and Selvarajah Rajivarman, sources in Jaffna said.
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Homage paid to slain Fr. Kaunaratnam in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 April 2008, 13:28 GMT]
More than a thousand people participated in the special Holy Mass Tuesday in Jaffna Cathedral (Kognchegnchi Maathaa Koayil) in Jaffna, paying homage to Rev. M. X. Karunaratnam, killed in a Claymore attack in the Vanni. Rev. Karunaratnam tirelessly strove to expose the human rights violations in Sri Lanka to the International Community and its various organizations including Vatican, Jaffna Bishop House Principal Priest, Rev. Justin Gnanapragasam who conducted the Holy Mass, said in his speech. People in Jaffna peninsula, for the first time since August 11 2006, assembled in large numbers at one place to participate in an event.
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