SLA blocks resettlement outside HSZ

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 March 2003, 18:01 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has refused permission for resettlers to build new houses or repair their damaged ones in Pannalai area close to Vasavilan which is outside the forward defence line of the Palaly high security zone (HSZ) in Jaffna district, civil sources said.


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'Minister’s argument feeble' - Thamilselvan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 March 2003, 17:27 GMT]
“We wish to express our great displeasure and dispute the feeble argument you advanced to justify and legitimize the unwarranted and impulsive action taken by the Sri Lanka Navy in attacking and destroying our merchant vessel on the international waters,” said Mr.S.P.Thamilselvan, political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, in a letter to the Defence Minister Mr.Tilak Marapane Saturday.


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Hartal cripples Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 March 2003, 16:39 GMT]
Normal life in Trincomalee district was disrupted Friday due to the general shut down (hartal) and the resulting closure of all Tamil medium schools, offices of provincial and local institutions, shops, non-governmental organizations, state and private sector banks, sources said. The transport services were curtailed to minimum and almost all the roads in the east port town were deserted.


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Unmanned Vehicle seen in Killinochchi

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 March 2003, 12:06 GMT]
An Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) was seen in skies above Kilinochchi and Mankulam, circling and flying in different directions around 10 am for half an hour Friday, sources in Kilinochchi said.
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Vanni TNA MPs fast, demanding Tamil detainees' release

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 March 2003, 02:19 GMT]
Three Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians Messrs Selvam Adaikalanathan, Raja Kuhaneswaran and Sivasakthi Anandan with hundreds of Tamil residents Thursday held a fasting campaign in front of the S.J.V.Chelvanayakam statue in Mannar town Thursday from morning till evening demanding the immediate release of all Tamil political prisoners from prisons at Kalutara and elsewhere in the south, sources said.
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SLA stops Gurunagar ice factory construction

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 March 2003, 23:28 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army Thursday ordered the Northern District Fisheries Co-operative Federation (NDFCF) to stop the construction work of the ice factory immediately in the Gurunagar area in Jaffna town.
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‘Peace talks to go on despite challenges’ – PM

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 March 2003, 13:46 GMT]
"The ethnic problem in this country can be solved only by talks, and there is no other way; hence, whatever the challenges and road blocks the peace talks will face, we cannot abandon the talks," said Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe, addressing the general meeting of the United National Party (UNP) held in Kandy Wednesday evening.
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'Destruction of LTTE ship is a grave ceasefire violation' - Balasingham

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 March 2003, 19:40 GMT]
The interception and destruction of the Liberation Tigers' merchant cargo vessel in international waters by the Sri Lankan Navy is a grave violation of the ceasefire agreement and contravenes international law, Mr. Anton Balasingham, the LTTE's political advisor and chief negotiator, told a delegation of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Kilinochchi on Wednesday, according to Mr. Balasingham, who spoke to journalists after the meeting.
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SLMM head holds talks with senior LTTE leaders

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 March 2003, 17:35 GMT]
The new head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Mr.Triggve Teleffsen Wednesday arrived in Killinochchi to hold discussions with senior leaders of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) regarding the attack by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) on a LTTE merchant vessel off Mullaitivu Monday, sources in Vanni said. The LTTE had earlier condemned the attack as "a grave violation of the ceasefire agreement,” and warned that “this grave incident will have far reaching implications for the peace process.”


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'We are committed to peace' - Balasingham

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 March 2003, 00:22 GMT]
The political advisor of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Mr.Anton Balasingham said that the LTTE will not allow the peace process to become a trap to weaken the Liberation Tigers. "Despite provocations and attacks on us we are determined to participate constructively in the peace process. We want to convince the world, particularly the Sinhala people, that we are committed to peace," said Mr.Balasingham addressing a gathering, which followed the opening of the main court complex of the Thamileelam judiciary in Killinochchi Tuesday morning, sources said.


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US Ambassador visits Jaffna, meets civil group leaders

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 March 2003, 17:02 GMT]
The Ambassador for United States of America in Colombo, Mr.Ashely Wills, paid a one-day visit to Jaffna Tuesday and held discussions with representatives of Jaffna civil groups and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians, sources said.
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LTTE vehemently condemns sinking of merchant vessel in International Waters

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 March 2003, 14:23 GMT]
The leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam condemned the sinking by the Sri Lanka Navy of an LTTE merchant vessel in international waters, 220 nautical miles off Trincomalee, today. In a letter to Sri Lankan Defence Minister Tilak Marapane, the head of the LTTE’s Political Wing, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, condemned the attack in which eleven LTTE cadres were killed as “a grave violation of the ceasefire agreement.”


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SLN encourages poaching by Indian fishermen - Adaikalanathan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 March 2003, 16:50 GMT]
The Vanni district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Mr.Selvam Adaikalanathan in a letter to the Prime Minister Saturday blamed the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) for causing rift between Sri Lankan Tamil and Indian fishermen. "I strongly condemn the SLN for purposely allowing Indian fishermen to fish in Sri Lankan waters as a ploy to create ill feeling between fishermen of Mannar and India," said Mr.Adaikalanathan.


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ADB President visits Killinochchi, holds talks with LTTE

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 March 2003, 18:21 GMT]
The President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Mr.Tadao Chino, Friday reaffirmed ADB's commitment to supporting the peace process with rehabilitation and reconstruction assistance, during a meeting with representatives of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Killinochchi, northern Sri Lanka, a press release issued by the Sri Lanka Resident Mission of the ADB said.
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Opposition parties plan protests against Ceasefire Agreement

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 March 2003, 16:57 GMT]
The Opposition Alliance, formed by the main opposition party in Sri Lanka’s parliament, the Sri Lanka Fredom Party (SLFP), in an alliance with the Jantha Vimukti Peramuna (JVP), the Mahajana Eaksath Peramuna (MEP), the National Unity Alliance (NUA), and the Sri Lanka Mahajana Paksaya (SLMP), said in a press conference in Colombo Thursday that it wants to “save the country” and has planned to conduct massive protests on March 10 against the UNF Government’s Ceasefire agreement with the LTTE and its economic policies of the past year.
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SLA soldier, Constable, in LTTE custody released

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 March 2003, 11:54 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier, Lance Corporal Nimal Kumara and Reserve Police Constable Philip Anandasekara who were in Liberation Tigers' (LTTE's) custody were released today in Kilinochchi to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission(SLMM) following a meeting with the LTTE leaders and the members of the SLMM, sources in Kilinochchi said.
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CTTU to protest against army presence near schools

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 March 2003, 01:58 GMT]
The twenty thousand member strong Ceylon Tamil Teachers Union (CTTU) Tuesday decided to hold a one day token strike on March 11 in the northeast province demanding the removal of the presence of government troops in the vicinity of schools. The protest will also highlight the delay in providing permanent appointment to about one thousand volunteer teachers in the northeast schools, said its general secretary Mr.T.Mahasivam.
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SLMM Head meets LTTE’s Col. Karuna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 March 2003, 17:21 GMT]
The head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Tryggve Tellefsen, officially met with LTTE’s senior commander, Col. Karuna, at Karadiyanaru in the LTTE controlled area in Batticaloa on Tuesday, sources said.
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MSF to wind up operations in NorthEast

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 March 2003, 00:40 GMT]
MEDICINS SANS FRONTIERS (MSF), an international non-governmental medical and humanitarian organisation which is providing medical assistance to people in the northeast province Monday expressed confidence that the ceasefire agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) will lead to permanent peace in the island and that their permanent presence is not required beyond 2003, sources in Jaffna said.
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Impact and Issues of Forestry on Northeast Coastal Resources

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 March 2003, 23:00 GMT]
There is an urgent need for protection of mangroves, estuarine and swamp forest/vegetation as important components of the northeast coastal resources of Sri Lanka together with fisheries, coral reefs, seagrass, beaches and sand dunes, amongst others if we are to preserve the environment of Northeast for future generations. An examination of forestry issues that impact the conservation and management of North East coastal resources follows.
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