Muslim van driver shot dead in Kalmunai

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 May 2005, 12:21 GMT]
Mr. Mohammed Fowzan (31), a Muslim van driver from Ibbagamuva, Kurunagalle, was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen in Veeramuanai close to Kattumedu junction in the early hours of Monday. Mr. Fowzan is the driver of Free Media Movement (FMM) Spokesperson Sunanda Deshapriya, sources in Colombo said. A friend of Mr. Fowzan, Mr. Mohammed Nazar (32) who was a passenger in the front seat, was admitted to the Sammanthurai hospital with two gunshot wounds, hospital sources said.
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ADB vows to ensure aid reaches LTTE areas - paper

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 May 2005, 02:56 GMT]
As international donors continue to urge Sri Lanka to sign a joint mechanism with the Liberation Tigers, to ensure tsunami-related aid is distributed equitably to where it is needed, the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) top official said his organisation would ensure humanitarian assistance would reach LTTE-controlled areas in any case.
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UNP in major drive for activists - paper

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 May 2005, 02:51 GMT]
Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP), which is gradually building up its campaign for the next presidential election, has launched a major campaign to mobilize a 150,000 strong activist force to bolster its vote base, Sunday Times reported this week.
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Coercive Airpower in the Eelam Conflict- Taraki

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 May 2005, 00:11 GMT]
The article on the use of airpower in Eelam conflict written by late Dharmeratnam Sivaram that appeared in the 19 May 1991 issue of the Island gains added significance in view of recent controversy over Liberation Tigers’ alleged possession of Czech made Zlin type Z-143 aircraft. Full text of the article is reproduced in this feature.


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20,000 quit SLA since truce - General

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 May 2005, 13:56 GMT]
Revealing that over 20,000 soldiers had quit the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) since the February 2002 ceasefire, a top general blamed lack of appreciation of the military by the public and other departments of the state as key reasons for soldiers deserting their posts in the army, press reports in Colombo said. Officers also blamed poor infrastructure in camps and difficulties in obtaining home leave from duties in forward defence areas also as contributing to low morale.
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UNICEF says underage recruitment "very low"

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 May 2005, 13:43 GMT]
Saying UNICEF had seen a "very low level" of underage recruitment by the Liberation Tigers in recent months, the organisation’s outgoing top official in Sri Lanka, Ted Chaiban, Sunday welcomed the development and urged the continuation of "this positive trend." Mr. Chaiban met Sunday LTTE's Head of Political Division, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, his deputy, Mr. S. Thangan and the Director General of the Peace Secretariat, Mr. S. Pulidevan at LTTE's Peace Secretariat in Kilinochchi and discussed the improvement of the lives of people, particularly children, in Sri Lanka's former warzones.
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Media colleagues pay tribute to Sivaram

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 May 2005, 02:02 GMT]
Several colleagues from Colombo media, friends and relatives attended the memorial service held Saturday in honor of Dharmeratnam Sivaram, popular military analyst and senior member of TamilNet editorial board who was abducted and killed 28 April. The event was held at the St. Andrew's Scots Kirk Church in Colpetty, Colombo.
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Japanese Red Cross to rehabilitate two hospitals

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 May 2005, 01:34 GMT]
Mr. Tadateru Konoe, President of the Japanese Red Cross (JRC) who arrived in Colombo Friday on a five-day visit to Sri Lanka signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) Friday evening to rehabilitate and reconstruct two government base hospitals, Kantalai in the Trincomalee district and Chilaw in the Puttalam district. Mr.Jagath Abeyasinghe signed the MoU on behalf of the SLRCS, sources said.
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Clinton urges Sri Lankan political parties to support Joint Mechanism

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 May 2005, 18:34 GMT]
Meeting the local and foreign media personnel in Colombo at the end of his tightly-scheduled two-day visit, Clinton said that he fully backs the proposed Joint Mechanism‚ as it could also lead to peace and reconciliation. Former US President Bill Clinton, who is also the UN special envoy for co-ordinating tsunami rebuilding process, on Saturday urged the political parties in the South to extend their support for the establishment of such a mechanism "to build a common future for everyone". Appreciating the ceasefire which is continuing for the past three years, Clinton said that Norway was facilitating and all the Sri Lankans should support the peace process.
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Clinton meets TRO Director in Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 May 2005, 15:24 GMT]
Mr. K.P. Regi, Executive Director of the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), met with former US President Bill Clinton at a meeting of the UN agencies and Civil Society organisations working in Sri Lanka Saturday, sources in Colombo said. The meeting took place at Trans Asia Hotel at 4.30 PM in Colombo.
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Clinton visits Kalmunai to inspect tsunami reconstruction

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 May 2005, 06:48 GMT]
Former US President Bill Clinton arrived in Sri Lanka on Friday in a special aircraft from India to inspect the tsunami reconstruction process in his capacity as the UN Special envoy for tsunami reconstruction. On Saturday morning, Mr. Clinton flew to Kalmunai in the Eastern Batticaloa district to personally inspect the reconstruction activities and is expected to meet the community leaders there, sources from Kalmunai said.
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SLMM acting head meets with paramilitary officials in East

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 May 2005, 15:45 GMT]
Mr. Hagrup Haukland, the acting head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) met on Friday with officials from the paramilitary EPDP, PLOTE and EPRLF (V) groups in the East. The meeting took place in SLMM District office located at Lake Road, Batticaloa between 13.10 PM and 14.10 PM.
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Sri Lanka can arm but LTTE cannot – SLMM chief

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 May 2005, 14:56 GMT]
Asked how the reported acquisition of one or two aircraft by the Liberation Tigers could be deemed a violation of the ceasefire agreement, when the massive acquisition of weaponry by the Sri Lankan state was not counted as a violation, the head of the international truce monitors in Sri Lanka, Hagrup Haukland, said Thursday that the Sri Lankan government had a legitimate right to arm itself, while the LTTE did not.
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Memorial service for Sivaram to be held in Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 May 2005, 09:48 GMT]
A thanksgiving service for late Dharmeratnam Sivaram (11 August 1959 - 28 April 2005), popular military analyst and senior member of TamilNet editorial board, who was abducted and killed on 28 April, is to be held on Saturday at St.Andrews Scots Kirk (church) located in Colpetty, Colombo, family members said.
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‘Joint mechanism, trust fund part of peace process’

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 May 2005, 20:37 GMT]
The proposed Joint Mechanism and the Trust Fund for post-tsunami management are part of efforts to resume the Sri Lankan peace process, the European Union’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr. Wouter Wilton, said Wednesday when he met with the Liberation Tigers in Kilinochi.
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HRW laments Tamil killings

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 May 2005, 04:57 GMT]
Saying that ongoing killings and abductions throughout Sri Lanka have created “a climate of fear among Tamils across the country,” Human Rights Watch (HRW) Tuesday called for “the establishment of an independent commission of inquiry into the killings and abductions in order to identify those responsible and recommend measures to end the abuses.”
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Trinco former UC Chairman Suriyamoorthy dies

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 May 2005, 04:47 GMT]
Mr.Periyapodi Suriyamoorthy, former Chairman of the Trincomalee Urban Council Wednesday early morning around 5.30 a.m. succumbed to gunshot injuries in the Colombo national hospital exactly after a week he was shot at on May 18 Wednesday night by unidentified gunmen in his Trincomalee residence, family sources said.
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Army intelligence not to be questioned in Sivaram killing

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 May 2005, 23:03 GMT]
The senior police officer tasked with investigating the abduction and murder last month of Tamil political columnist and military analyst, Dharmeratnam Sivaram, said Tuesday that he would not interview military officials simply on the basis of allegations. Senior Superintendent of Police, Crime Division, Sarath Lugoda, was apathetic over the high profile murder, listeners to his interview by the BBC (Sinhala) service said.
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Fears for safety of Veerakesari associate editor

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 May 2005, 18:24 GMT]
Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) said Tuesday it is “extremely concerned” about the safety of Vediwel Thevaraj, associate editor of the Tamil daily Veerakesari, who has received death threats.
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Tellipallai Cancer Hospital to be reopened

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 May 2005, 10:18 GMT]
Cancer Hospital located within the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) demarcated High Security Zone (HSZ) in Tellipallai, Jaffna, is to be reopened on 27 May, Hospital sources said. For the past several years the SLA refused permission for the hospital to function nand cancer patients in Jaffna often had to travel to Colombo to obtain life saving treatment in Maharagama.
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