Sinhala nationalists vow to oppose west, 'neo colonialism'

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 March 2005, 16:59 GMT]
Sinhala nationalists Wednesday declared 2 March as national ‘Anti-neo-colonialism Day’ at a rally to mark to commemorate Ven. Wariyapola Sumangala, the Buddhist monk who pulled down the Union Jack and hoisted the Sinhala lion flag 190 years ago. A widely publicized rally to mark the day was organized in Colombo by Patriotic National Movement (PNM), an alliance of Sinhala nationalists formed and backed by President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s main coalition ally, Janatha Vimukthi Permamuna (JVP).
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Thousands march in Jaffna, urge talks, condemn attacks on LTTE activists

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 March 2005, 12:39 GMT]
More than twenty thousand people marched in Jaffna Wednesday urging the international community to persuade the Sri Lankan government to restart the long stalled peace talks with the Liberation Tigers. The march condemned the killing and shooting of LTTE political leaders and called on Colombo to set up a joint mechanism with the Tigers for the equitable distribution of Tsunami aid to the northeast. Jaffna peninsula was shut down until the march, which wound through the northern town from morning 10.45, concluded in the afternoon.
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Sri Lanka Taxes, bureaucracy limit flow of Tsunami relief

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 March 2005, 00:48 GMT]
In camps off the North-East coast of Sri Lanka, over 300,000 people drink water from bowsers brought in from kilometres away. Dependant on an unsustainable water source, they are unaware of the NGOs' struggle with Sri Lanka's bureacracy and fight against Government's mechanisms to throttle relief reaching NorthEast. Nor are the refugees aware of the heavy duties paid to clear high-tech water filtration systems and relief supplies that would otherwise either collect dust in a customs warehouse or distributed to other areas at the fancies of Sri Lanka's Social Services Ministry officials.
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Attacks on LTTE political leaders serious and disturbing - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 March 2005, 15:46 GMT]
"The continuing killing and shooting of our senior political leaders is a very serious and disturbing matter", said Mr. S.P Thamilchelvan, head of LTTE's political division, in a message conveyed to the Norwegian government through its ambassador in Colombo Tuesday night. "The killing of Mr. Kousalyan and the attack on Ms. Kuveni, both senior political leaders of the LTTE, since the Tsunami is casting a dark shadow over the peace process", said Mr. Puleedevan, secretary general of the LTTE peace secretariat.
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Wounded LTTE political activists flown to Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 March 2005, 13:21 GMT]
Liberation Tigers said the three wounded female political activists who were shot by gunmen on Sri Lanka were airlifted to Colombo for further treatment Tuesday evening. Ms. Kuveni, head of LTTE's political division (women) for Batticaloa-Amparai was seriously wounded along with two of her colleagues when gunmen riding a motorbike opened fire on the near Akkaraipattu, 64 kilometres south of Batticaloa, Monday evening. LTTE charged that the gunmen were working in collusion with Sri Lankan armed forces.
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Prince Charles arrives in Sri Lanka, visits Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 February 2005, 05:39 GMT]
Britain's Prince Charles arrived in Colombo on Monday morning on a six-hour brief visit amidst tight security. Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, Power and Energy Minister Susil Premajayanth and Deputy Foreign Minister Prof. Viswa Warnapala received the Prince at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) amidst tight security. From the international airport, Charles flew to the Eastern Batticaloa district in a special military helicopter and visited Navalady and Thiruchendoor, two coastal suburbs of Batticaloa town, which were completely devastated by the Tsunami.
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US Church, TRO pay $7,000 taxes to clear water purifiers from Sri Lanka Customs

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 February 2005, 00:10 GMT]
Five water purifiers donated by the Holy Redeemer Church in Baltimore Maryland, USA, to the people of NorthEast and addressed to Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO)-Colombo were held by Colombo customs from 27 January due to officials demanding payment of import taxes recently introduced by the Finance Ministry of Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) on relief supplies. TRO sources in Colombo said that the purifiers were finally cleared Saturday after a payment of $7,000 to the Government of Sri Lanka Customs.
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Japan donates Rs 8.9 million to upgrade Thellipalai hospital

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 February 2005, 22:26 GMT]
The Government of Japan today donated a sum of USD 90,204 (approximately Rs. 8.9 million) towards the "Project for Emergency Rehabilitation of Water Supply and Sewerage Systems at Thellipalai Hospital" in the Jaffna peninsula as a part of its continuous efforts in improving the emergency health care needs in areas where access to health facilities and services are insufficient.
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Kumaratunga says no paramilitaries with Sri Lanka army

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 February 2005, 07:17 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga told Norwegian special peace envoy Mr. Eric Solheim that there aren’t any paramilitaries working with the Sri Lankan armed forces, according to a press release by the Presidential Secretariat Friday. The Liberation Tigers say that Colombo had committed to disarm paramilitaries working with the Sri Lankan armed forces in the island’s northeast under the terms of the cease fire agreement (CFA) it signed with them three years ago. The statement said that Mr. Solheim conveyed to Ms Kumaratunge LTTE’s concern regarding the implementation of Article 1.8 of the CFA in relation to disarming of paramilitary groups when he met her Thursday in Colombo.
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JVP demands UPFA Government to withdraw statement on interim administration

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 February 2005, 12:53 GMT]
The radical Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a major coalition partner of the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) on Thursday demanded the government to withdraw immediately its statement - that it was ready to resume peace talks with the LTTE firstly to set up an interim administrative structure in the NorthEast region - as it goes against the stance of the coalition government. The government Information Department said in a statement on Wednesday that the government was prepared to resume talks to set up first an interim arrangement to handle the urgent humanitarian needs of the people and then proceed to discuss the final solution to the prolonged ethnic crisis.
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Tamil MPs protest march in Sri Lanka Parliament

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 February 2005, 08:26 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance MP marched on the driveway to the Sri Lankan Parliament carrying placards condemning Colombo for failing to avail itself of the cease fire with the Liberation Tigers signed three years ago. “Do not buy weapons with Tsunami aid”, “Disarm the paramilitaries”, “Don’t divide the Muslims and Tamils”, read some of the placards. The march and demo were led by senior Tamil Parliamentarians Mr. R. Sampanthan, Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, Mr. Mavai Senathirajah and Mr. Selvam Adaikalanathan.


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Kumaratunga ally threatens to quit if talks resume

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 February 2005, 06:48 GMT]
The Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the main coalition partner of President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s government Thursday threatened to pull out of the ruling alliance if the long stalled talks between Colombo and the Liberation Tigers on setting up an interim administration to address the immediate humanitarian needs of the war torn Northeast of Sri Lanka are resumed. In a hard hitting statement issued Thursday, JVP slammed President Kumaratunga’s government for neither consulting nor informing them about the announcement Wednesday that Colombo is ready to restart talks with the Tigers on the basis of a proposal for establishing an interim administration.


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SC quashes death sentence, Tamil youth released after 15 years

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 February 2005, 16:57 GMT]
Mr.Shanmugam Ragupathi, a Tamil youth of Jaffna was released Monday after fifteen years in Welikada jail when the Supreme Court quashed the death sentence imposed on him by the Colombo High Court in a case in which he was indicted by the Attorney General for causing deaths of several soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in an attack on the Karainagar army base in the year 1990, legal sources said.
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SLA troopers shot in Kilali no go zone

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 February 2005, 15:26 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Army (SLA) trooper was reported killed and another was injured when the Liberation Tigers fired on them in the no man's zone when the SLA soldiers had advanced to within 40 meters of the LTTE Forward Defence line in the lagoon between the SLA held Kilali, Jaffna and the LTTE controlled mainland around 5 p.m. Wednesday. LTTE women cadres in the forward defence line opened fire when they spotted SLA soldiers taking aim at them, sources in Kilinochchi said. A similar incident took place at the same location in February 2003.
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German Minister meets with TRO officials

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 February 2005, 06:15 GMT]
German Economic Cooperation and Development Minister Ms. Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul who is currently in Sri Lanka on a fact finding visit to see the tsunami damages met with Director of Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) Colombo office, Mr Chandru Pararajasingham, at the Pan Asia Hotel, Monday, TRO officials in Colombo said. TRO is an NGO registered with Government of Sri Lanka and works exclusively in the NorthEast.
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Chemmani medical reports with Attorney General

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 February 2005, 03:10 GMT]
Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Sri Lanka Police has informed the Colombo Chief Magistrate Ms. Sarojini Kusala Jayawardene that forensic reports about the twenty-one human skeletons exhumed from Chemmani graveyard in Jaffna with the Attorney General, legal sources said.
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German minister gifts boats, engines, nets

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 February 2005, 19:39 GMT]
German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Ms. Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, visited Manalkaadu, a Tsunami devastated fishing village on Jaffna's southeastern coast Tuesday. She gave fifteen boats and out board motors to fishermen who lost their homes and all belongings. Fishermen refused to receive the boats and equipment from the German Minister in the presence of Sri Lanka army officers from the Manalkaadu garrison.
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CFA has failed to foster trust – Batticaloa VC

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 February 2005, 17:41 GMT]
“What has the cease fire agreement achieved if it has not been able to foster enough trust to form a joint body to deliver aid to the Tsunami hit people of the northeast? We can asses the status of the cease fire agreement from the simple fact that the Sri Lankan government is protesting to the UN over a condolence message for Kousalyan. Why should anyone protest over an expression of condolence? This is the situation in which we Tamils find ourselves today even after three years of cease fire”, said Dr. S. Raveendranath, Vice Chancellor designate of the Eastern University speaking at a seminar to mark third year of the cease fire agreement in Batticaloa Tuesday.
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Colombo should stop covert war - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 February 2005, 16:27 GMT]
"The Sri Lankan military has formed new paramilitaries to wage a covert war on the Liberation Tigers and our people. This covert war should be stopped immediately. We pointed out during the discussion that the cease fire and peace would fall apart if this covert war against us continues. The cease fire agreement (CFA) can be sustained if the Sri Lankan government abides by the provisions it promised to honour by signing the CFA with us", said Mr. S. P Thamilchelvan, head of the LTTE’s political division, speaking to the press after meeting Norway’s special peace envoy, Mr. Eric Solheim in Kilinochchi Tuesday. The Liberation Tigers and Colombo signed a CFA on 22 February 2002.
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Stalled Peace talks strains Ceasefire, says SLMM chief

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 February 2005, 08:44 GMT]
The Scandinavian truce monitors, monitoring the ceasefire agreement between the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) since the day it came into operation on Feb 22, 2002, cautioned on Tuesday that the prolonging stalemate in the peace talks causes serious strain on the very existence of the ceasefire.
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