Book on ethnic conflict released in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 April 2005, 11:53 GMT]
A Tamil book written by well-known political analyst, Mr. C.A.Jothilingam, titled "Ethnic Conflict and Proposals for Political Solution" was released and introduced to the Trincomalee audience at an event held Friday evening in Trincomalee Town Hall. Mr.K.Sivapalan, Human Rights activist, presided the event.


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Senior Sri Lanka Police sleuth said missing

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 April 2005, 15:45 GMT]
A very senior Police sleuth has gone missing in Colombo since Wednesday, Sri Lanka's Inspector General of Police said Friday night. Mr.T. Jeyaratnam was a senior investigator of the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) of the Sri Lanka Police. He was the most experienced officer in investigations against the Liberation Tigers. Police said Mr. Jeyaratnam may have been abducted.
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Embrace reforms, End conflict, Rocca tells Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 April 2005, 18:22 GMT]
United States Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Christina Rocca, urged Sri Lanka to continue to embrace economic reforms and to take advantage of the Millennium Challenge opportunity to enhance growth and reduce poverty, in a speech at the American Center in Colombo April 19.
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Demonstrations in Velanai, Sandilipay demand Joint Mechanism

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 April 2005, 17:02 GMT]
Large number of civilians participated in two protest marches held in Sandilipay in Valigamam division and Velanai in Kayts Division in the Jaffna district Thursday morning separately putting forward four demands including the establishment of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) and the Joint Mechanism to implement tsunami reconstruction and rehabilitation programme in the northeast. Other demands were the resettlement of displaced families due to war in their own houses and lands and to bring to halt the killings of LTTE cadres, members of public and journalists, sources said.


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"Courageous" renamed "Samudura"

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 April 2005, 16:35 GMT]
"Courageous" naval vessel donated by the US government to Sri Lanka was renamed "Samudra" at an event held Thursday in Colombo harbour with Mr.Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, acting Defence Minister, as the chief guest. Mr.Wickremanayake, Minister of Buddhist Affairs, is holding the acting Defence Minister post in the absence of President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge. Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge who is currently abroad.
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Tigers say Vattamadu attack report psy ops

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 April 2005, 10:31 GMT]
Sri Lanka army claimed Thursday that five Liberation Tigers were killed and seven wounded when a paramilitary attacked their positions in Vattamadu on the island's southeast coast. A senior commander of the LTTE's armed forces in the Batticaloa-Amparai region said that two men had opened fire in the direction of their forward defence positions on the outskirts of the Kanjikudichcha Aaru region Thursday morning. "There were neither casualties nor damage on our side", the LTTE commander said. He dismissed the SLA statement as "routine psy ops".
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Rocca assures TNA delegation US support for Joint Mechanism

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 April 2005, 06:30 GMT]
Ms Christina Rocca, US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Wednesday assured the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary delegation that the US Government would support the establishment of the Joint Mechanism in disbursing foreign aid to tsunami-hit coastal areas in the northeast province, TNA sources said. TNA delegation that comprised Mr.R.Sampanthan and Mr.Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam met with Ms Christina Rocca Wednesday at the US Embassy in Colombo.
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Explosion injures three in Colombo

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 April 2005, 18:40 GMT]
A bomb exploded in a jeep Wednesday night in Colpetty, Colombo, injuring three, Police said. The bomb went off near an Indian restaurant. Police denied initial reports that one of its officers was among the injured.
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Where the truce promise rings hollow

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 April 2005, 14:26 GMT]
The cease fire agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers was greeted eagerly by the people of Batticaloa because it held out the hope that their daily lives would be spared of the tensions, fears, anxieties, stress and trauma which they suffered for two long decades of war. They were glad that they could lead normal lives again. Today the cease fire’s promise rings increasingly hollow to them as the Sri Lankan armed forces reintroduce war era measures, which are tinged indelibly with bitter memories of a past the people of Batticaloa wanted to put behind so that they could start their lives anew.
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Solheim expresses hope for agreement on Joint Mechanism

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 April 2005, 10:22 GMT]
Mr. Erik Solheim, the Norwegian Special Peace Envoy to Sri Lanka, said Wednesday that the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers are close to enter into an agreement on the long awaited Joint Mechanism to distribute international aid for post-tsunami rebuilding effort in the NorthEast. However, Mr. Solheim said that there were still some issues that need to be resolved before signing the document.
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Thamilchelvan meets Solheim in Colombo, returns to Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 April 2005, 09:04 GMT]
Visiting Norwegian Special Peace Envoy, Mr. Erik Solheim, on Wednesday met Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, Political Head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who was returning to Kilinochchi concluding an almost 40 days long diplomatic mission to Europe and to South Africa. Mr. Thamilchelvan during his mission to Europe had held discussions with government leaders of more than twelve countries regarding the current state of the stalled peace process and the hindrance on the part of the Government of Sri Lanka in establishing a Joint Mechanism to implement a tsunami relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction programme in the northeast.
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Joint Mechanism means end of UPFA, warns JVP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 April 2005, 05:02 GMT]
At a time when the Norwegian facilitators indicated that the Government and the LTTE are coming close to enter into an agreement on the proposed Joint Mechanism for post-tsunami aid distribution in the North-East, the marxist extreme Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a major ally of the ruling UPFA coalition, warned on Tuesday that such a deal would mean the end of the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government.
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Rocca goes to Kalmunai, Karaithivu

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 April 2005, 15:02 GMT]
US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Ms. Christina Rocca, Tuesday met Tsunami refugees at a transit camp in Karaithivu, a large Tamil village 45 kilometres south of Batticaloa.
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Rocca to meet Solheim in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 April 2005, 12:33 GMT]
Visiting US Assistant Secretary of State, Christina Rocca, is scheduled to meet visiting Norwegian special peace envoy, Erik Soheim, in Colombo on Wednesday to discuss issues concerning Sri Lanka's stalled peace process and the proposed Joint Mechanism for post-tsunami relief effort, diplomatic sources in Colombo said.
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"Can trust only when Joint Mechanism comes" - Col. Bhanu

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 April 2005, 08:39 GMT]
“We can talk about having faith in this process only when the Joint Mechanism for Tsunami Reconstruction is implemented. The suffering of Tamils and Muslims who were affected by the Tsunami in Batticaloa/Amparai is immense. Some of them say they should have died in the Tsunami than face the privations to which they are subjected today as refugees. We explained to the Norwegians the urgent need for a joint mechanism to help these people”, said Col. Bhanu, special commander of LTTE’s armed forces in Batticaloa/Amparai, speaking to journalists after meeting Mr. Eric Solheim, special Norwegian peace envoy who visited Batticaloa Tuesday.
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Christina Rocca arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 April 2005, 05:18 GMT]
Ms Christina Rocca, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State arrived in Colombo Monday night on a two day visit to survey United States-funded tsunami reconstruction efforts and meet with Sri Lankan government officials. She is scheduled to tour the tsunami devastated coastal areas in the districts of Amparai and Batticaloa.
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Joint-mechanism with LTTE only way out, says Kumar Rupasinghe

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 April 2005, 05:09 GMT]
Dr. Kumar Rupasinghe, a leading peace activist in Sri Lanka, said Tuesday that the proposed joint-mechanism between the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE is the only way out in the decision making process to carryout the much-needed rebuilding and resettlement program for tsunami-affected people in the worst-hit North-East region.
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Solheim arrives in Colombo, visits Puttalam

[TamilNet, Sunday, 17 April 2005, 14:37 GMT]
Mr.Erik Solheim, Norwegian special peace envoy arrived in Colombo Sunday on a five day visit to Sri Lanka amid expectation that he would seal an agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that would establish a joint mechanism to take forward the post-tsunami relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation programme in the northeast province, sources said.
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Canada rejects Sri Lanka's diplomatic nominee- paper

[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 April 2005, 21:41 GMT]
"Canadian Government has signalled the Sri Lanka Government that it will not be able to accept Mr. [Chandrananda] de Silva as Sri Lanka's next High Commissioner to Ottawa because under the provisions of the Immigration Act of that country, Mr. de Silva as the one-time holder of office as Secretary of Defence is a person, in respect of whom, if there are any allegations of human rights abuses whether proved or not, would be regarded as an inadmissible person to that country," the weekend Sunday Times said quoting diplomatic sources.
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High Court acquits PTA accused

[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 April 2005, 18:13 GMT]
The Colombo High Court last week acquitted Tamil youth John Mariyaseelan, indicted under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) with the possession of a suicide jacket and a hand grenade, due to lack of evidence against the accused, legal sources said.
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