Tamil youth killed in Colombo

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 June 2005, 06:29 GMT]
Mr. Veerabahu Inthirakumar, 27, was shot by unidentified gunmen at Nelson Place, Wellawatte, Colombo Monday early morning 2.30 AM, Police said. The victim succumbed to gunshot injuries at Kalubowila Hospital in Colombo.
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Two Tamil youths killed in Colombo

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 June 2005, 05:22 GMT]
Two Tamil youths, identified as Mr. Francis Denisius and Mr. Thevathas Emmanuel from Gurunagar, Jaffna, were shot and killed by unidentified gunmen who followed the victims in a three wheeler in Kochchikkadai, Colombo. The incident took place in front of a Kali Temple located near the Ponnambalawaneswar Temple in Kochchikkadi Sunday morning around 5.50 AM, according to residents in the area.
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Demonstration against Upper Kotmale Hydro-project held in Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 June 2005, 04:58 GMT]
More than two hundred activists belonging to civil groups opposed to Upper Kotmale Hydro-power scheme demonstrated in front of Colombo Fort Railway station Friday afternoon, sources in Colombo said. Members of leftist political parties and other related civil groups including Sinhalese and Tamils participated in the demonstration. Upcountry Tamil political parties did not attend the demonstration.
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Respect the decision of the judiciary in Trinco dispute - NPC

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 June 2005, 04:04 GMT]
Urging the Sri Lankan Government to implement the decisions of the judiciary regarding the dispute in Trincomalee in an impartial manner and deploring any threats to use violence to resolve the issue, the National Peace Council (NPC), a Colombo based Sri Lankan peace group, in a media release issued on Friday, said that the focus of public attention has been shifting to very negative issues due to the lack of progress in achieving agreement on Joint Mechanism on tsunami recovery. The organiation warned that the widespread protest which brought ordinary life in the Northeast to a halt on Friday points to the danger of escalation.
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Profile of a shadow war veteran

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 June 2005, 01:02 GMT]
The veteran intelligence officer, Lieutenant Colonel Nizam Muthaliff, was a central figure in the atrocity-punctuated paramilitary aspects of the counter-insurgency campaign against the LTTE in the early nineties then had a critical role in the deep penetration attacks on LTTE commanders and officials, the Tamil Guardian reported Wednesday.
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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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Colombo holds key to restore normalcy, says LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 June 2005, 14:51 GMT]
Government of Sri Lanka has a moral responsibility to demonstrate its serious commitment to the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) and its will to maintain the integrity of the CFA by delivering on it in terms of its obligation to restore normalcy, Mr. Thamilchelvan, LTTE's Head of Political Division, told Swiss Ambassador Mr.Bernadino Reggazzoni on Thursday in a meeting in Kilinochchi. LTTE's Political Head expressed fear over the state of the CFA in the context of "fanatical elements" trying to cash in on a volatile situation in Trincomalee and Vavuniya, the LTTE Peace Secretariat website reported.


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Sri Lanka under pressure over aid fiasco

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 June 2005, 14:44 GMT]
President Chandrika Kumaratunga on Wednesday denied claims that her government was mishandling billions of dollars donated by the international community to help Sri Lanka recover from December's devastating tsunami, press reports said. Meanwhile Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar denied that unwieldy bureaucracy and a lack of professionalism was to blame for the delays in post tsunami relief.
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TRO official speaks at Select Committee meeting

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 June 2005, 02:59 GMT]
Mr S. Sivasupramanium, Head of the Colombo office of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), an NGO registered with the Government of Sri Lanka, addressed the Parliamentary Select Committee meeting of NGOs where views were shared on the role of the NGO sector in post-disaster rehabilitation held at the Sri Lanka parliamentary complex in Colombo, website of the Select Committee reported.


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Conference decries escalating threat to freedom of expression

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 June 2005, 00:10 GMT]
Representatives of media organizations and Trade Unions, Civil society leaders, artists and members of leftist parties held a conference labelled "Living against murder," protesting against murders of journalists and the rising threat to freedom of expression in Sri Lanka. The conference was held at the Jayawardana Center in Colombo Town Hall.
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Ministerial involvement averts Trinco shutdown

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 June 2005, 00:01 GMT]
Trincomalee District Tamil Peoples' Forum (TDTPF) Wednesday agreed to postpone until June 15 its general shut down action scheduled to take place after June 2nd demanding the removal of controversial Buddha statue after a ministerial team assured the Tamil Forum that the Urban Development Authority (UDA) would take legal action against the unlawful structure and necessary steps will be taken to withdraw army troops from the east port town, sources in Trincomalee said.
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Funeral of Major Muthalif held in Colombo

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 June 2005, 11:15 GMT]
Funeral of high ranking Military Intellligence Commanding Officer Major Mutalif (39), who was assassinated Monday by unidentified gunmen was held Wednesday morning at Dehiwela Mohideen burial grounds with full military honors, sources in Colombo said.
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USAID helps rebuild Jaffna psychiatric ward

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 June 2005, 10:56 GMT]
US Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided a grant of US$225,000 to rehabilitate a new psychiatric wing at the Tellipalai Hospital in Jaffna, a press release issued by the US Embassy in Colombo said. USAID is an independent agency that provides economic, development and humanitarian assistance around the world in support of the foreign policy goals of the United States.
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Attorney General files plaint in Buddha statue case

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 June 2005, 00:05 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Attorney General (AG) Tuesday filed plaint seeking the Trincomalee District Court Judge Mr.S.Thiagendran to declare the construction of the Buddha statue on the State land as unlawful and to issue enjoining order preventing the accused party from making further improvement, alteration and building any new additions in the disputed land till the matter is resolved by the court, legal sources said.
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AHRC fears "major breakdown of law and order"

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 May 2005, 21:59 GMT]
Saying it was shocked by the assassination Tuesday of a high ranking Sri Lankan military intelligence officer, Major Nisam Muthaliff, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) said it was concerned at the escalation of violence, saying Sri Lanka is "heading towards a major breakdown of law and order."
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Economic embargo imposed in Batticaloa, Vaharai residents protest

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 May 2005, 17:14 GMT]
Large number of residents of Vaharai division in the Batticaloa district Tuesday morning staged a peaceful protest march demanding the withdrawal of economic embargo imposed recently by the Sri Lankan military, sources said. Last several days soldiers manning checkpoints in Batticaloa have been blocking civilians from transporting cement, building materials, fuel and other essential materials to the villages of Panichchankerni, Paalchenai, Kathiraveli, Kandalady, Uriyankattu and Mankerni which are located in LTTE controlled Vaharai division.
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Senior Military Intelligence officer shot dead in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 May 2005, 08:14 GMT]
A high ranking Sri Lankan Military Intelligence Corps (MIC) Commanding Officer, Major Thuwan Nizam Muthaliff, 39, was shot and killed Tuesday morning around 8.00 AM by unidentified gunmen at Polhengoda Junction in Narehenpitya, Colombo. The gunmen following him in a motorbike shot him at point-blank range while his car stopped at the Wijaya Kumarathunga signal crossing along the Baseline Highway. Muthaliff is the highest ranking Sri Lankan Military Intelligence officer to be killed since the signing of Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in February 2002.
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World Bank team to assess housing reconstruction in east

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 May 2005, 17:30 GMT]
A World Bank (WB) team is scheduled to visit the districts of Trincomalee and Batticaloa on June 1st and 2nd to assess the progress made in the reconstruction of houses in war and tsunami affected areas under the North East Housing Reconstruction Programme (NEHRP), sources in Colombo said.
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Ministry to discuss NorthEast education issues

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 May 2005, 17:28 GMT]
A top-level conference to discuss problems confronting the education development in the northeast province is to be held at the office of the Ministry of Education in Colombo Tuesday morning with the Ministry Secretary Dr Tara de Mel in the chair. Ms Ferial Ashraff, Minister of Education Development in the East and Minister Mr.Douglas Devananda, Minister for North Education Development are to attend the conference, ministry sources said.


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Military blocks LTTE commanders’ return

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 May 2005, 14:17 GMT]
Amid the continuing cycle of violence in Sri Lanka’s eastern province, hopes of improving trust between the Sri Lankan military and the Liberation Tigers are being undermined by Colombo’s refusal to provide safe passage to senior LTTE commanders and other cadres across Army-controlled areas, officials said. In the wake of the massacre of an LTTE political leader and his team when travelling by road through Army-controlled roads, there are accusations the use of helicopters is being denied to expose LTTE officials to paramilitary attack.
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