Sri Lanka builds ten Dvoras with German engines

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 May 2005, 18:18 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Navy is building ten new Israeli-designed Dvora gunboats using German-built engines, Tamil press reports said this week. But allegations of kickbacks being received in the purchase of the engines have surfaced recently, the Virakesari reported last week.
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New Navy base on Jaffna coast

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 May 2005, 17:58 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) has started preliminary work on a new naval base at Thiruvadinilai beach in Chulipuram, on the Jaffna peninsula’s western coast, reports said this week.


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Attempt to erect another Buddha statue foiled

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 May 2005, 15:05 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army and Police Sunday morning around 11 a.m. jointly removed the Buddha statue that was erected overnight Saturday on the roadside along Ehambaram Street in Kerniyady, a suburb in Trincomalee town, Police said. Building materials left behind by unidentified persons to build a shrine were also removed by the Police. Kerniyady is situated about one km off north of Trincomalee-Uppuveli road in close proximity of Sinnathoduvai Pillaiyar Kovil and Trincomalee Railway Station.
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Do Sri Lanka's defense forces have conventional warfare capability?- Taraki

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 May 2005, 00:34 GMT]
In an article in the Colombo-based Tamil daily, Virakesari, on March 27, 2005, Dharmaretnam Sivaram, analyzed the history of Sri Lanka's defense forces and argued that from the very beginning, the Sri Lankan forces' mission was to confront internal crises that the country's ruling elite feared as grave threats, without the strategic thinking required for conventional warfare or to confront external threats.
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Body of missing soldier found in Kilali

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 May 2005, 18:02 GMT]
A soldier of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) who was reported missing Tuesday during training in the forward defence line in Kilali high security zone in Thenmaradchchi division along Jaffna-Kandy highway was recovered Wednesday from nearby shrub jungle by fellow army men, security sources said.
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Japan to give US$90m loan assistance

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 May 2005, 16:07 GMT]
Japan is to provide Sri Lanka a US$90 million for infrastructure rehabilitation and small business revival of tsumani affected areas, a press release from Japanese embassey issued in Colombo Thursday said.
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Competition for SriLankan, new Katunayake runway mulled

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 May 2005, 13:39 GMT]
The Sri Lankan government is set to allow local private airlines to operate international flights using its air service agreements with other countries and thereby competing with the national carrier SriLankan Airlines, press reports quoted the aviation minister as saying. Sri Lanka is mulling adding another runway to its sole international airport, Katunayake. Meanwhile Indian officials may be drafted in to break a strike by air traffic controllers.
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Monks disrupt Parliament over Trinco statue

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 May 2005, 08:00 GMT]
The hardline monks’ party, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) Thursday condemned a Magistrate’s judgement ordering police to temporarily remove the controversial Buddha statue erected in Trincomalee town bus stand.
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Suriyamoorthy in critical condition

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 May 2005, 07:59 GMT]
Mr. P. Suriyamoorthy, former Chairman of the Trincomalee Urban Council, who was shot and seriously wounded Wednesday was airlifted to Colombo, Thursday morning as his condition became critical, hospital sources said. Mr. Suriyamoorthy is now undergoing an emergency operation in Colombo general hospital, sources said.
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Henrik Ibsen play in Sinhala

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 May 2005, 17:07 GMT]
Norwegian author Henrik Ibsen’s famous play ‘The Master Builder’ is now being staged for the first time ever in Sinhala, while translations into Sinhala and Tamil of three of Ibsen’s most well-known plays, ‘The Master Builder’, ‘Hedda Gabler’ and ‘Pillars of Society’ will be launched this week, the Norwegian Embassy said this week.
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SL parliament to hold one-day debate on peace process

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 May 2005, 15:59 GMT]
Leaders of political parties represented in Sri Lanka's parliament, during a meetging held Monday in the Speaker's Chamber,decided to hold a full day debate on the stalled peace process on Friday on a request made by Mr.R.Sampanthan, leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), parliamentary sources in Colombo said. Mr.Sampanthan will open the debate.


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Donors pledge $3bn, push peace process

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 May 2005, 16:19 GMT]
International donors wrapped up a key conference for Sri Lanka pledging $3bn in aid, but stressing the importance of progress in resolving the island’s protracted ethnic conflict to pave the way for its disbursement, press reports and officials said. The onus is on Sri Lanka’s President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who has promised donors she would overcome Sinhala nationalist opposition to negotiate and sign a joint mechanism with the LTTE, to deliver. But amid escalating Sinhala right wing pressure, Tamil optimism is tempered by deep sceptism
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NorthEast Housing Project workshop to be held in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 May 2005, 16:06 GMT]
The Project Launching Workshop of the World Bank funded North East Housing Reconstruction Programme (NEHRP) is to be held on May 19 at Mahaweli Centre in Colombo under the patronage of the Provincial Governor Mr.Tyronne Fernando, Sources said. The purpose of the workshop is to create awareness of the project's mission and objectives among all those who are involved in the project implementation, NEHRP sources said.
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Indo-Lanka naval cooperation vital - Kadirgamar

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 May 2005, 10:13 GMT]
Operational relations between the navies of the India and Sri Lanka countries were vital to the national security of both countries, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar said this week.
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RSF slams Colombo’s ‘lack of will’ on journalists’ murder

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 May 2005, 13:48 GMT]
Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) has written to participants at the Sri Lankan Development Forum (SLDF) meeting in Kandy urging them to put pressure on the Sri Lankan government to conduct a serious investigation into the 29 April murder of Tamil journalist Dharmeratnam Sivaram (Taraki).


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Commitment to shed political divisions, prerequisite for peace- NPC

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 May 2005, 16:52 GMT]
Commenting on the forthcoming donor forum meeting in Kandy, National Peace Council (NPC), in a press release issued in Colombo Sunday said, "...there is little the donor community could do for us in ensuring recovery from the tsunami, long term sustainable economic growth and a political solution to the ethnic conflict in the absence of internal commitment to shedding political divisions in rebuilding the country for the common good."
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TNA kept out of Development Forum

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 May 2005, 15:06 GMT]
"The programme formulated for the Sri Lanka Development Forum (SLDF) which is to be held in Kandy on May 16th and 17th seeks to marginalize the North East and fails to recognise diversity, and respect the democratic verdict of the people of the North East," said Mr R Sampanthan, Leader of the parliamentary group of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), in a letter he wrote to the Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Sunday, TNA sources in Colombo said.
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Buddhist Congress protests against aid deal

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 May 2005, 13:58 GMT]
Hundreds of Buddhist monks belonging to Jathika Sangha Sammelanaya (JSS National Buddhist Congress) held a protest march Sunday against any deal with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for a Joint Mechanism to facilitate post-tsunami reconstruction in the NorthEast, sources in Colombo said. The protesters marched to the office of Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mr Mahinda Rajapakshe and handed over a memorandum.
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Breakdown in JM negotiations will be a major blow- Akashi

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 May 2005, 21:15 GMT]
Expressing Japan's frustration in the delay in forging permanent peace in Sri Lanka, Japanese peace envoy Yakushi Akashi, turning his attention the aid deal for post-tsunami development said, "The breakdown of negotiations on the Joint Mechanism will be a major blow to all concerned specially to Sri Lankan people who have every right to expect...assistance from abroad...but we must find alternative means for aid delivery." Mr Akashi talked to the reporter in Colombo after meeting S P Thamilchelvan, Head of LTTE political wing Saturday morning.
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New HC bench to hear Mirusuvil massacre case

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 May 2005, 16:12 GMT]
The Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar (TAB) inquiry into the Mirusuvil massacre case has been fixed before a newly constituted three member-bench comprising Judges Mr.Upali Abeyaratne, Mr.D Wijesunthara and Mr.Sunil Rajapakse for July 25. Earlier the inquiry was scheduled to resume on 22 Monday, 2004. However the inquiry was put off indefinitely with the murder of Judge Mr.Sarath Ambepitya who was the chairman of the three-member bench, legal sources said.
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