Sri Lanka Internet disruption said not caused by Indian ship

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 August 2004, 11:52 GMT]
Sri Lanka Telecom Thursday decided to withdraw its case against the Indian ship accused of severing the island's main link to the Internet after conclusive evidence that the vessel had nothing to do with the damage caused to submarine fibre optic cable landing point last Saturday night. The Indian ship, MV State of Nagaland, was nine nautical miles away from the Mt. Lavinia Landing Point at the time of the incident, lawyers representing the vessel's owning company said.
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US embassy official inspects USAID projects in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 August 2004, 15:47 GMT]
Mr. James Endwills, US embassy official in Colombo, Wednesday visited three projects now being implemented in the Jaffna district with USAID assistance. He later attended a conference in the Jaffna district secretariat presided by the Government Agent Mr.S.Pathmanathan and discussed in detail with civil officials related to the ongoing development projects and proposed projects, sources said.
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Greater inclusivity can revive peace process- NPC

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 August 2004, 09:16 GMT]
The National Peace Council, in a press release issued in Colombo Tuesday said that killings during ceasefire are "totally unacceptable," and that a bipartisan approach is necessary to take the peace process forward to arrive at a "mutually agreed negotiated political solution."
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USAID funds projects in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 August 2004, 09:08 GMT]
Three U.S. Government funded projects aimed at restoring basic services and improving livelihoods for conflict affected segments of the population were inaugurated in Jaffna Wednesday. A statement issued by the Embassy of the United States of America in Colombo said that Charge’ d’ Affairs of the Embassy James Entwistle, inaugurated the projects in Jaffna Wednesday.
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Indian ship detained for causing Sri Lanka's internet crash

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 August 2004, 13:03 GMT]
Sri Lanka Ports Authority Tuesday detained MV State of Nagaland, an Indian ship, for causing damage to the submarine fibre optic cable landing point off Mount Lavinia, a coastal suburb in southern Colombo. On a plaint filed by Sri Lanka Telecom, the Colombo High Court Monday directed Ports Authority to detain MV State of Nagaland. Sri Lanka Telecom said the damage to the landing point has been estimated to be five million US Dollars. The damage would take a week to repair fully, SLT officials said.
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Ex LTTE cadre shot dead in Colombo

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 August 2004, 17:12 GMT]
An ex cadre of the Liberation Tigers who had been working with the Sri Lanka military intelligence was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in a Hindu Ashramam in Wellawatte, a largely Tamil suburb of Colombo, Monday night around 10, Police said. Police identified the ex LTTE cadre as R. Kugananthan, 47.
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Japanese ambassador says concerned by killings in east

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 August 2004, 14:21 GMT]
Japan and the international community are very concerned that killings in Sri Lanka's east coast and in Colombo might affect the peace process adversely, said Mr. Akio Suda, Japan's ambassador in Colombo Monday. He was speaking to the press in Batticaloa after meeting Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, Tamil National Alliance MP for the eastern district. During the meeting the Batticaloa MP told Mr.Suda that the Sri Lankan military intelligence is behind the murder of several Liberation Tigers in the east.
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Colombo said considering alternative to Nordic truce mission

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 August 2004, 06:36 GMT]
Sri Lanka' Deputy Minister of Defence, Mr. Ratnasiri Wickremanayaka, said Monday that his government is thinking of either enhancing the powers of the Nordic truce monitoring mission in the island or finding a more effective alternative to it.
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US calls on Colombo, LTTE to rebuild trust

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 August 2004, 07:11 GMT]
United States of America Thursday urged the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers to “take steps to work to rebuild trust and schedule the promised talks as soon as possible”. The US embassy issued a press release regarding the current state of the peace process in Sri Lanka after US Deputy Secretary of state Mr. Richard Armitage reviewed the situation in Sri Lanka with U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Mr. Jeffrey Lunstead, according to the statement.
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Murder convict said organizer of Sri Lanka conference in Oslo

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 August 2004, 05:20 GMT]
A man convicted of murder is the joint organiser of a conference on Sri Lanka in Oslo, the Norwegian multicultural newspaper Utrop said in its online edition Friday. The conference, which begins Friday, brings together Sinhala nationalist hardliners and Sinhala Buddhist extremists from around the world. The Norwegian, the joint organizer of the Sinhala nationalist conference, was convicted for murdering an immigrant restaurant owner in Oslo and sentenced to preventive detention for ten years in 1997, according to Utrop.
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Maj. Gen. Tennekoon made Jaffna SF commander

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 August 2004, 13:38 GMT]
Major General Sunil Tennekoon has been appointed the new Sri Lankan Security Forces Commander for Jaffna, military headquarters in Colombo said Thursday. He was the General Officer Commanding the Sri Lanka army's 22 Division in Trincomalee. Maj. Gen. Tennekoon replaces Maj. Gen. Susil Chandrapala who has been made commander of SLA's Volunteer Force.
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EPDP protests against killing of senior member

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 August 2004, 08:10 GMT]
EPDP cadres and leaders Thursday protested in front of foreign missions in Colombo against the killing of its media spokesman, Mr. Balanadaraja Iyer (Sinna Bala). The EPDP started the protest in front of the Indian High Commission Thursday morning and then moved on to the British High Commission, US, German and Dutch embassies in the city. The EPDP protestors handed over a petition demanding that foreign governments should intervene to stop the killings of their cadres to the British and US missions.
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"Tamil national patriot" Selliah Ratnam passes away

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 August 2004, 07:40 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) conferred the title "Tamil national patriot" on Mr. Selliah Ratnam, retired Assistant Government Agent and the Jaffna district co-ordinator of SIHRN who passed away Sunday in Colombo Apollo Hospital after a brief illness. The remains draped by the Tiger flag were kept first at SIHRN office in Killinochchi district secretariat and later at Thooyavan Political Science College of the LTTE Tuesday for the public to pay homage.
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Sri Lanka's railway workers protest in Colombo

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 August 2004, 10:02 GMT]
More than three hundred railway workers demonstrated in Colombo Wednesday against moves by the Sri Lankan government to privatise the railway system in Sri Lanka. The Joint Trade Union Front of Railway Services, which comprises 32 unions, wants Colombo to abolish the Railway Authority Act. Unions say the act is designed to facilitate the privatisation of railways in Sri Lanka. Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which took up the cause of the railway workers stridently when it was in the opposition, did not take part in the raiway workers' protest Wednesday.
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Drug smuggling ring arrested in Mannar

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 August 2004, 11:28 GMT]
Sleuths from Sri Lanka's Anti -Narcotics Bureau arrested four persons with 4.5 kilograms of pure heroin in Mannar, Police in the island town said Tuesday. The arrest was made on information provided by a man from Mannar and two Indian nationals with 1490 grams of pure heroin who were taken into custody by Police from the Anti Narcotic Bureau last Thursday in Thillayadi in Puttalam. Mannar has emerged as a key transit point for drug smuggling from South India to Colombo.
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EU urges early recommencement of talks

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 August 2004, 18:03 GMT]
While noting that the meeting with the LTTE was constructive and the matters were discussed in a frank and open manner, the EU in a press statement issued on Monday called upon the LTTE for the earliest resumption of peace talks and stated that the peace process and the development process are inter-linked.
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Tigers reiterate stand, say Tamils losing peace hope

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 August 2004, 12:13 GMT]
''We explained to the European Union envoys the LTTE leadership's stand that we are ready to restart negotiations with the Government of Sri Lanka on the basis of the Interim Self Government Authority proposal which was endorsed by the Tamil people at the general elections", said Mr. S. P Thamilchelvan, head of LTTE 's political division, speaking to the press after meeting a top EU delegation from Colombo Monday in Kilinochchi.
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British, Dutch, EU envoys meet LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 August 2004, 07:47 GMT]
The British High Commissioner for Sri Lanka and the ambassadors of European Union and Netherlands met the head of the LTTE's political division, Mr. S. P Thamilchelvan, Monday in Kilinochchi for discussions about the island's long deadlocked peace talks. The visit of three envoys comes in the wake of the Liberation Tigers saying last week they will re-enter peace negotiations only if the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) is institutionalised first.
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Senior EPDP leader shot dead in Colombo

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 August 2004, 05:03 GMT]
Mr. Bala Nadarajah Iyer (Sinna Bala), a senior member of the EPDP, a close ally of Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga, was shot dead in Colombo by unidentified gunmen Monday around 8.15 a.m. Mr. Iyer was the spokesman for the EPDP and was on the editorial board of its paper Thinamurasu.
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Record crowds attend Madhu Church festival

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 August 2004, 15:32 GMT]
The annual festival of Madhu Church concluded Sunday with three Bishops - Thomas Soundaranayagam (Jaffna), Malcolm Ranjit (Ratnapura) and Rayappu Joseph (Mannar) - jointly holding Holy Mass. About three hundred thousand devotees from all parts of the island participated in the final day of the festival of the Madhu Church, which is also called Jungle Shrine, revered by Tamils and Sinhalese, sources said.
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