Sri Lanka Navy rescues abandoned refugees

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 February 2005, 11:53 GMT]
Seventeen refugees rescued by Sri Lanka Navy from a sandbank at mid sea were produced in the Mannar court Monday. Indian refugee runners who had promised to illegally ferry them to Mannar abandoned them on one of the shifting sandbanks of the Adam’s Bridge in the early hours of Saturday morning. Mannar magistrate released the refugees.


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Two die in accident in Thondamannaru

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 February 2005, 18:21 GMT]
Eight-year-old student E.Thanushyan of Puloly died on the spot when a motorcycle and a van collided in a head on clash Tuesday morning at Thondamanaru-Kerudavil area in Vadamaradchchi division in Jaffna district. Mr.Kandiah Nandakumar (21) of Varani was pronounced dead on admission at the Jaffna teaching hospital, police said.
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Protest in Mannar against Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 January 2005, 07:36 GMT]
More than four thousand people marched in Mannar town Friday in protest against the Sri Lankan government for denying equitable distribution of Tsunami aid to Northeast. The march and brief rally were led by Vanni district MPs and civil society groups in Mannar.
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Earth tremor in Mannar evokes fears of tsunami

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 January 2005, 13:39 GMT]
An earth tremor in Muthariputhurai village, located 15 km north west of Murungan in Mannar, forced 1800 residents to move to safer areas of Potkerni, Sirukandal and Pariharikandal to spend the night Friday, sources in Mannar said. Offical Sri Lanka Government agencies have not yet acknowledge the incident in Muthariputhurai, sources added.
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Foreign aid going to South, not North- Col. Soosai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 January 2005, 18:04 GMT]
''Two third of the loss of lives and properties caused by Tsunami disaster has been in Tamil areas in the northeast province. But the Sri Lanka government is channelling vast sums of foreign aid to the south,'' said Colonel Soosai, Special Commander of Sea Tigers addressing a special discussion held in Maruthankerni in the LTTE controlled Vadamaradchchi east division in Jaffna district.


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UN Envoy Wahlstrom visits Jaffna district

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 January 2005, 17:15 GMT]
Ms. Margareta Wahlstrom, United Nations Secretary General's Special Envoy Sunday visited Jaffna district, UN sources said. Accompanied by Ms. Miguel Bermieo, UNDP Country Director UN and representatives of Fisheries Co-operative Societies she visited Tsunami destroyed coastal areas from Point Pedro to Valvettithurai.
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Police disrupts Kittu death anniversary in Mannar, Pesalai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 January 2005, 16:11 GMT]
At least 15 civilians were injured in Mannar when the Police opened fire in air and assaulted several Tamil people when they attempted to hoist Thamileelam flag in the Pesalai town Sunday morning in preparation to hold a commemoration meeting to mark the 12th death anniversary of Colonel Kittu, senior commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and nine other LTTE cadres. Tension prevailed in Pesalai town and transport services came to halt, sources said.
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Macroeconomic approach should govern reconstruction - Don

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 January 2005, 00:53 GMT]
Professor V. Nithyanantham of the Dept. of Economics, Jaffna University, talking to TamilNet on the socio-economic setting in NorthEast and problems facing the residents in the post Tsunami period, said that planners should adopt a macro-economic approach to reconstruction taking into account relevant humanitarian and social factors.
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Tsunami ravaged community in northeast pleads with UN Secretary General

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 January 2005, 15:50 GMT]
Civil organizations and churches in the northeast have appealed to the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to visit the tsunami hit regions in the LTTE controlled areas as he reached Colombo Friday 6.10 PM. Rt.Rev. Dr.Thomas Soundaranayagam, Bishop of Jaffna, Rt.Rev.Dr. J. Kingsley Swampillai, Bishop of Trincomalee-Batticaloa and Rt. Rev. Rayappu Joseph, Bishop of Mannar urged The Secretary General to visit Mullaithivu and meet LTTE leaders and discuss with them about the future rehabilitation of the Tsunami victims. Most of the appeals have highlighted the positive effects of his visit to LTTE controlled areas in promoting peace through negotiations.
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Vanni TNA MPs oppose army take over of refugee camps

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 January 2005, 11:00 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Vanni district parliamentarians vehemently protested against the directive of the President to hand over the management of welfare centres where Tsunami victims are sheltered to the State armed forces at a conference held at the Vavuniya district secretariat Thursday with Mr.Tyronne Fernando, North east Provincial Governor in the chair, sources said.
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Resettling Tsunami victims in Vadamaradchchi commences

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 January 2005, 12:45 GMT]
Resettling the dislocated families from Vadamaradchchi coastal villages in Jaffna district due to Tsunami disaster has commenced Monday night. Displaced residents of coastal villages located between Katkovalam and Thondamannaru in Vadamaradchchi north division are being transported from the present welfare centres to the selected thirteen schools and places of worships close to their previous residences, civil sources said.
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Tsunami destroyed 271 schools in North East

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 December 2004, 11:56 GMT]
Two hundred and seventy one schools in the northeast coastal areas have been destroyed or damaged in the Sunday's Tsunami, said North East Provincial Education Ministry Secretary Mr.Thiagalinkam in a report to the Provincial Ministry for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction.
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First Taskforce Unit meets in Puthukkadu

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 December 2004, 14:00 GMT]
One of the units of the Disaster Management Taskforce setup by the Head of the Political Wing of the LTTE, S.P.Thamilchelvan, met Tuesaday at 9.15am at its new offices in Puthukkadu juncion on A9 near Thalaiyady, Vadamaradchy East, Sudar, an official with the LTTE Peace Secretariat told TamilNet. S.Thangan, Deputy Head of LTTE Political Wing, presided the meeting.
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NorthEast Bishops appeal for permanent peace

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 December 2004, 06:09 GMT]
Bishops of Jaffna, Trincomalee-Batticaloa and Mannar Dioceses Bishop Thomas Soundaranayagam, Bishop Dr. Kingsely Swampillai and Bishop Rayappu Joseph in their Christmas Messages appealed to all communities, the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers to work hard to sustain the ceasefire agreement and to ensure permanent peace.


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Bishop Emeritus Antony felicitated

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 December 2004, 20:45 GMT]
His Lordship L.R.Antony, Bishop Emeritus of Trincomalee-Batticaloa Diocese was felicitated on the day of his Golden Jubilee of Priesthood. The felicitation event was held in Trincomalee St.Mary's Cathedral on Wednesday.
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Twenty Tamil refugees return to Talaimannar by sea

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 December 2004, 17:10 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Navy Tuesday evening arrested 20 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees when they landed in Talaimannar coastal area and one of them with about one and half kilogram of ganja. All the twenty were handed over to the Talaimannar Police, sources said. Mannar Magistrate Mr.M.N.M.Abdulla Wednesday released 19 refugees and ordered remand till December 29 for the refugee who was allegedly possessing ganja when they were produced in court by the police.
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Urgent need of relief to flood victims in NE - TRO

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 December 2004, 09:01 GMT]
"There is an ugent need to supply cooked meals, fresh drinking water, shelter and other immediate necessities to the flood victims in the NorthEast", a TRO official told TamilNet. TRO has provided temporary accommodation to 761 families and is supplying cooked meals, drinking water and other humanitarian assistance to a further 254 families in the Kilinochchi District, the official added.
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Thirteen Tamil refugees surrender in Mannar

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 December 2004, 11:18 GMT]
Mannar Magistrate Mr.M.N.M.Abdulla Tuesday ordered the civil authorities to send all thirteen Tamil refugees who returned from India after fourteen years in refugee camps to their respective villages in the districts of Jaffna, Mannar and Vavuniya, legal sources said.
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Seized heroin, ganja destroyed in Mannar

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 December 2004, 11:17 GMT]
A consignment of three and a half kilo of heroin and three and a half kilo of ganja seized by the vigilant group of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) when being smuggled into the island during the weekend was destroyed in the presence of public in the heart of Pesalai police division in Mannar district Tuesday around noon, civil sources said.
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Nine Indian poachers to be repatriated

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 December 2004, 11:17 GMT]


Mannar Magistrate Mr.N.M.M.Abdullah Tuesday ordered the repatriation of nine of the twelve Indian poachers now in remand in Anuradhapura prison. He made this order on the written direction of the Attorney General, legal sources said.
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