Mannar, Vavuniya paralysed by protest

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 December 2004, 05:35 GMT]
Vavuniya and Mannar towns were paralysed Thursday due to a general shut down (Hartal) called by several public organisations to protest against attacks on civilians by Sri Lankan armed forces. Protestors blocked roads and burnt tires in some parts of Vavuniya town Thursday morning. The A9 highway and the Omanthai entry/exit point in Omanthai, 15 kilometres north of Vavuniya were closed due to the hartal. There were no incidents in Mannar although the town was generally deserted, Police said.
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Mannar, Vavuniya to observe general shutdown

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 December 2004, 17:00 GMT]
NorthEast Civil Society Forums appealed to businesses and residents fo districts of Vavuniya and Mannar to observe general shutdown Thursday in protest against the killings of two innocent Tamil youths in Valvettithurai in Jaffna, and assaults on members of public including one Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian during the Heroes Day celebrations, civil sources said.
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Australian aid for peace-building, humanitarian efforts

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 November 2004, 15:44 GMT]
Australian Government is to provide $4M aid to support projects in peace building and humanitarian efforts, a media release from Australian Embassy in Colombo said.
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Vidataltivu residents lack medical facilities, ambulance

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 November 2004, 12:48 GMT]
Vidataltivu, a fishing hamlet located about 30 km off Mannar town in the Liberation Tigers controlled area in the Mannar administrative district is without medical, transport and other essential facilities. The government hospital with its new building constructed by the North East Community Restoration Development (NECORD) project funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB) and handed over to the Department of Health has no permanent medical officer.
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TNA MP demands return of occupied houses in Vankalai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 November 2004, 12:14 GMT]
Mr.Selvam Adaikalanathan, Vanni district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, Sunday wrote to the acting Defence Minister Mr.Ratnasiri Wickremanayake to take immediate steps to hand over houses in Vankalai in Mannar district now being occupied by the Sri Lanka Police to the displaced owners who have returned to their village for resettlement since the signing of the ceasefire agreement.
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Trincomalee to observe general shut down

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 November 2004, 12:13 GMT]
Tamil Peoples Forum of Trincomalee District Sunday issued an appeal to the Tamils in the east port town to observe a one-day general shut down Monday condemning violent attacks on innocent Tamil civilians during the Maveerar Week celebrations in the Tamil districts of northeast province by members of State armed forces and chauvinist elements, sources said.
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TNA faults SLA for violence in Tamil districts

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 November 2004, 15:53 GMT]
"Unwarranted interference by the armed forces in the lives of the Tamil civilian population in the North-East must be brought to an end," said Mr.R.Sampanthan, leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary group in a statement of national public importance tabled in Parliament Saturday in regard to several violent incidents that had taken place in the districts of Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya and in Trincomalee during Heroes Day week.
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Mannar situation calamitous- Thamilchelvan tells SLMM

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 November 2004, 13:02 GMT]
Head of Liberation Tigers Political Wing, S.P Thamilchelvan, in an urgent message to Head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Maj. Gen (retd) Trond Furuhovde described the situation in Mannar as "calamitous" that will lead to public unrest which is "totally undesirable" during the period of ceasefire and martyrs' day celebrations.
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Sri Lanka Parliament adjourned after Tamil MPs protest

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 November 2004, 12:10 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Parliament was adjourned Thursday after Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MPs sat in the well of the house in protest against military attacks on civilians in Mannar. The protesting TNA Parliamentarians refused to allow sittings to proceed until their demand that the Sri Lanka army should be withdrawn to barracks in the affected areas was met. The Tamil MPs rejected an explanation by Minister for Trade and Commerce, Mr. Jeyaraj Fernandopillai that the military had no hand in the Mannar troubles.
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Fourteen injured as troops attack civilians, MP in Mannar

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 November 2004, 10:24 GMT]
Fourteen civilians were seriously injured when Sri Lanka army troops indiscriminately attacked hundreds of people in Mannar town Thursday. Tamil National Alliance MP for Mannar, Mr. Vino Noharathalingam and the parish priest for Thalvupaadu were also attacked in the rampage. Hundreds of SLA troops, firing in the air, ran amok in the town centre with iron bars and clubs, pulling down Heroes’ Day decorations and assaulting civilians. They attacked and damaged the political office of the Liberation Tigers in Mannar town.
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Dhanapala says happy about Mannar situation

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 November 2004, 11:56 GMT]
“I am happy that in Mannar we have a relatively low number of cease fire violations that reflects very well the situation in Mannar”, said Mr. Jayantha Dhanapala, Secretary General of the Sri Lankan government’s Peace Secretariat, speaking to journalists briefly during an official visit to Vavuniya Wednesday. However, he refused to take questions from the media. Accompanied by Maj. Gen. Parami Kulatunga, Sri Lankan armed forces commander for the Vanni, Mr. Dhanapala visited the main entry point on the line of control at Omanthai, 15 kilometres north Vavuniya.
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Troubles erupt over flag in Mannar town

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 November 2004, 10:35 GMT]
Mannar town was tense Wednesday afternoon amidst a stand off between Sri Lankan security forces and hundreds of civilians over the removal of a Thamil Eelam national flag hoisted at a sports festival to mark 'Great Heroes' Week. Crowds burnt tires in the town and demanded that the flag be handed back to organisers of the sports festival on the Mannar general play ground. Trouble erupted after some Sri Lanka army soldiers removed and took away the flag, Mannar Police said. Sri Lanka army deployed more troops and armoured vehicles in Mannar town following the fracas.
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TRO organizes Pre-School teacher training in NorthEast

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 November 2004, 09:00 GMT]
Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) is conducting training programmes to pre school teachers and pre school development coordinators jointly with Forut and SCiSL throughout NorthEast covering all the communities through a bottom up organization, Pre-School Education Development Centre, TRO sources said.


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Body found in Mannar town

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 November 2004, 05:53 GMT]
The body of a man was found with gun shot wounds in the head was found in Mannar town on Saturday morning, Police said. A placard with the name Ellalan Padai (army) was found by the body. When Mannar acting magistrate visited the scene of murder Saturday morning, the dead man's brother identified the body as that of Mr.Thommai Yesudasan, 38, of Nochchikulam north of Mannar. Informed sources in Mannar alleged that the man was connected to the drug trade.
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GAs, LTTE, Harim Peiris meet to discuss North rehabilitation

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 November 2004, 11:52 GMT]
Mr.Harim Peiris, Advisor to Sri Lanka's President on the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction and Reconciliation of the North East, Wednesday held a conference in the circuit bungalow of the Vavuniya district secretariat with the Government Agents of the districts of Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Killinochchi, Mannar and Vavuniya and political activists of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the proposed rehabilitation and reconstruction activities to be undertaken in the northern province, sources said.
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Indian poachers remanded

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 November 2004, 12:01 GMT]
Mannar Magistrate Mr. M.N.M.Abdullah Tuesday ordered remand till November 22 for 12 Indian fishermen who were caught by Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) poaching in Sri Lankan territorial waters, legal sources said
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SLN arrests Indian poachers in Mannar Sea

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 November 2004, 02:11 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy Tuesday early morning arrested 12 Indian fishermen when poaching in Mannar Sea area and took them into custody . THe fishermen were handed over to the Talaimannar Police for further action, Navy sources said.
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Mannar Bishop slams Kumaratunga's stand on Indian poaching

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 November 2004, 18:46 GMT]
Mannar Fishermen Monday temporarily gave up their protest against Indian poaching after Maj. Gen. Parami Kulatunga, Sri Lankan security forces commander for Vanni, promised them that he would take measures within two weeks to stop Indian fishermen from entering the seas off the Mannar coast. A conference to discuss Indian poaching was held Monday at the Bishop House in Mannar. "I have raised this matter with the President on several occasions. And everytime I was told that Indians cannot be antagonised on this score", Mannar Bishop Rt. Rev. Rayappu Joseph said, addressing the conference.
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WFP expands school meals project in northeast

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 November 2004, 17:36 GMT]
''Standard of education in the North East has deteriorated due to the two-decade old war and malnutrition in children has further impacted the educational standards,'' said Mr.M.S.Jayasinghe, Secretary of Ministry of Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction addressing the launching of School Feeding (Expansion) of the World Food Programme of United Nations at Nilaveli Tamil Maha Vidiyalayam located sixteen km off the east port town Trincomalee Monday.


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Indian poaching sparks road protests in Mannar

[TamilNet, Sunday, 07 November 2004, 07:46 GMT]
Traffic on the main artery of Mannar Island was blocked from early morning Sunday as hundreds of Tamil and Muslim fishermen piled their boats across the road to protest against large scale poaching by Indians in the waters off Pesalai and against the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) for taking no action to stop it. Hundreds of Indian fishing boats entered and fished in the sea off the Pesalai coast of the Mannar Island on Saturday night.
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