Elephant Pass Fall fifth anniversary celebrated

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 April 2005, 13:17 GMT]
Fifth anniversary of the fall of Sri Lanka Army's (SLA's) Elephant Pass garrison is being celebrated from the 22nd to 25th April in Vanni with long distance running competitions among different military divisions of Liberation Tigers followed by a day of cultural events, sources from Vanni said. The fall of Elephant Pass, described as "impregnable" by a US army officer who visited the garrison months before the fall, established the Tigers as the only non-state military force in the world today capable of complex manoeuvre war fighting.
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SLA bans transport of torch batteries to Muttur east

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 April 2005, 19:06 GMT]
Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Friday lodged a complaint with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Trincomalee that soldiers in the Kaddaiparichchan Sri Lanka Army are preventing people taking torch batteries to and from LTTE controlled Muttur east villages. Kaddaiparichchan SLA camp is located on the border of the SLA and LTTE controlled areas in the Muttur division, sources said.
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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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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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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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Short stories on war suffering released in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 April 2005, 00:18 GMT]
"Thoorathu Kodaikala Iravukal" (Distant Summer Nights), a collection of short stories by a young writer Miss Maathumai Sivasubramaniam, a law student from Trincomalee, was released during a weekend event held at Trincomalee St.Mary's Girls College with Rev.Sister Theresa Ranee, former Principal of the institution as the chief guest.
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LTTE sentry in Muttur attacked by SLA- Elilan

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 April 2005, 17:19 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Monday lodged a complaint with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission in Trincomalee that one of their sentry points in the LTTE-controlled Muttur east had been attacked by a group of soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army Sunday night around 7.10 p.m.
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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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LTTE conducted clearing operation in its area-Elilan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 April 2005, 17:04 GMT]
Responding to a complaint with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) that LTTE cadres had fired towards the SLA Mahindapura army camp which is located down south of Muttur area in the Trincomalee district Wednesday night, Mr.S.Elilan, LTTE Trincomalee district political head said " Our cadres conducted a clearing operation on receipt of information that armed cadres of an unidentified group had entered from the side of army camp into the no-man zone".


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IDPs, tsunami victims celebrate New Year in camps, tents

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 April 2005, 10:59 GMT]
Hundreds of thousands of internally displaced Tamil families affected by tsnunami and two decade old war Thursday celebrated another New Year in camps, welfare centres and make-shift structures as their own houses and agricultural lands in the Jaffna district are occupied by soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), civil society sources said.


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Fishermen appeal to lift fishing ban on Kerativu sea

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 April 2005, 10:48 GMT]
Fisheries societies in Thenmaradchchi division in Jaffna district appealed to the Divisional Secretary (DS) that they should be allowed fishing in Chavakachcheri-Kerativu sea twenty four hours a day. Otherwise they Sri Lanka Government should resume the relief that has been suspended by the authorities, in a memorandum handed over to the DS Wednesday evening, sources said.
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"Mortar training confined to our area" - LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 April 2005, 15:13 GMT]
Responding to Sri Lanka Army (SLA) statement that pieces of artillery shells fired by LTTE fell on the army controlled area where Thoppur army camp is located, Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said Wednesday, "LTTE cadres conducted normal military training in our controlled area in the Muttur east in the Trincomalee district on Tuesday morning," sources said.
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Politically motivated focus on child soldiers said detrimental to peace

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 April 2005, 19:41 GMT]
Addressing the 61st Session of UN Commission on Human Rights (CHR 61), Ms. Karen Parker, J.D., a human rights lawyer and chief delegate for International Educational Development - Humanitarian Law Project, an NGO accredited by the United Nations Economic and Social Council, warned Monday that politically motivated focus on child soldiers without genuine consideration for the children themselves is detrimental to peace. Ms. Parker urged the UN Commission to give full support to Sri Lankan peace process facilitated by the Norwegian Government.
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Sinhala nationalists urge crack down on Muslim groups

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 April 2005, 17:32 GMT]
Sinhala Buddhist nationalists Tuesday protested in Colombo, urging the Government of Sri Lanka to crack down on Islamic groups that are opposing the construction of Buddha’s statues in some Muslim towns and villages on the island’s southeast coast. Hundreds of Buddhist monks and their lay supporters marched to the Ministry of Buddha Sasana to condemn the “anti Buddhist activities of Muslim extremists”. The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and several civil society groups have opposed the construction of Buddha’s statues in Muslim areas on the southeast coast.


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Kilinochchi protest condemns delay in Joint Mechanism, ISGA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 April 2005, 09:38 GMT]
Large number of Tamil civilians participated in the protest march held Monday morning in Killinochchi condemning the Government of Sri Lanka for its delay in establishing the joint mechanism to provide relief and rehabilitation to tsunami affected people and for the delay in setting up the interim self governing authority (ISGA) in the northeast. It also condemned the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) for carrying out a shadow war in the east, sources said.
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Koneswaram water-cutting festival held

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 April 2005, 00:11 GMT]
The water-cutting (Theertham) festival of historic Trincomalee Koneswaram Temple was held Monday morning in the Papanasachunai holy well located inside Fort Frederick and surrounded by barracks of the Gajaba Regiment of the Sri Lanka Army. The SLA Monday allowed the temple authorities to open the holy well to conduct the Theertham festival to conclude the annual festival of the Koneswaram Temple. The fire brigade of the Sri Lanka Navy sprayed water from the holy well on thousands of devotees gathered at the site, sources said.
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Thousands march in Vavuniya for peace

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 April 2005, 08:35 GMT]
More than three thousand people marched through Vavuniya town Monday demanding that the government of Sri Lanka restart the long stalled peace talks with the Liberation Tigers, set up a joint mechanism for Tsunami relief in the island's northeast and stop using its paramilitaries to attack LTTE activists . A public rally was held on the Vavuniya Urban Council grounds at the conclusion of the march. The march and rally were organised by 84 civil society groups in Vavuniya.
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Koneswaram temple Chariot festival held

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 April 2005, 23:15 GMT]
Chariot (THER) festival of the historic Trincomalee Koneswaram Temple was held Sunday morning with Lord Konesar and his consort Maathumai Ambal being taken in a chariot while deities Pillaiyar and Murugan with his two consorts Valli and Theivayanai taken ahead in two other chariots. Large number of devotees from several parts of the country participated in the festival, sources attending the event said.
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ICRC escorts injured LTTE cadre to Trinco hospital

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 April 2005, 17:05 GMT]
Injured cadre of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Friday's dawn attack on the LTTE sentry point in Poonagar by an unidentified group in army uniforms was admitted to the Trincomalee general hospital Sunday afternoon for further treatment as his condition is reported critical. He was taken to the hospital by road from Kaddaiparichchan army sentry by representatives of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) on a request by the LTTE Trincomalee district political head Mr.S.Elilan, sources said.
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