SLN takes Indian poachers to Point Pedro military base

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 March 2006, 09:13 GMT]
Five South Indian fishermen from Puthuchcheri district in TamilNadu who entered Munai area in the northern waters around 11:00 a.m. Sunday, were taken to the shore by Vadamaradchi fishermen. Tense situation ensued between the Sri Lanka Navy troopers and the local fishermen as they refused to hand over the Indian fishermen to the SLN. However, the SLN soldiers threatened the local fishermen and have forcibly taken the Tamil Nadu fishermen to the 52-4 Brigade quarters for investigations, fisheries officials said.
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EPDP cadres roam Jaffna islet armed

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 February 2006, 14:40 GMT]
Alalasundaram Satheesh, a cadre of Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP), a paramilitary group working with Sri Lanka Government, armed with a hand gun and communications equipment belonging to the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), was patrolling residential areas of Jaffna islet of Delft Friday night around 8 p.m., sources in Delft said. Residents remained indoors without venturing out to get provisions in local shops, local residents said.
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SLA fires artillery shell into LTTE territory

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 February 2006, 05:51 GMT]
An artillery shell fired from a Sri Lanka Army camp in Vadamaradchi fell inside the Liberation Tigers controlled area 1.5 km beyond the no-man zone border in Muhamalai Thursday morning around 4:50 a.m., officials at the LTTE Peace Secretariat in Kilinochchi said. The artillery, launched from Nagarkovil SLA camp, landed between Satha Nagar settlement, a displaced people's settlement and an LTTE camp in the area, peace secretariat officials said.
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SLA strengthening security around key Jaffna bridges

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 February 2006, 03:33 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has increased its efforts in strengthening defences in several key positions around the main bridges connecting different regions, Vadamaradchy, Thenmaradchy, Valigamam and Jaffna Islets, with new bunkers, new sentry points and additional concertina wire fences, sources in Jaffna said. Security sources speculated that SLA is planning to declare many of the newly strengthened areas as small High Security Zones (HSZs).
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Free Tamil women from fear of rape- Sithamparanathan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 January 2006, 11:33 GMT]
International community should condemn the acts of sexual harassment and rape by the Sri Lanka security forces on Tamil women and urge the Sri Lanka Government to vacate the military from Jaffna, said Ms Pathmini Sithamparanathan, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian for Jaffna and a social activist, in a letter sent Tuesday to Ambassadors of Co-chairs and other European countries in Colombo.
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Jaffna Campus Heroes' Memorial unveiled

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 November 2005, 10:53 GMT]
"People of Jaffna will never forget nor pardon the desecration of the memorials of more than 900 war heroes in the hallowed grounds of Kopay Martyrs Cemetary in 1996 by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers," Professor. C. Mohanadas, the Vice Chancellor of Jaffna Univeristy told TamilNet after addressing the opening ceremony of a Heroes' Memorial constructed within the Jaffna Campus premises, Thursday. "It was an act, unheard of in the civilized world," the Vice Chancellor said.
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Floods in Northeast strands tsunami displaced

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 November 2005, 23:30 GMT]
Over three thousand tsunami and war affected refugees living in transitional shelters and temporary huts in the NorthEast have been again displaced due to heavy rain during the last two days. Normal life in several parts of the northeast province has been disrupted and several low-lying areas in the districts of Jaffna, Killinochchi and Mullaithivu have gone under floodwater. Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) has deployed volunteers to provide basic facilities to displaced families who are now being sheltered in public and school buildings and with relatives. Hundreds of families have been affected by torrential rains in Batticaloa and Trinco districts.
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Three grenade attacks in Jaffna, 3 policemen, 2 SLA soldiers wounded

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 November 2005, 16:19 GMT]
Three Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and two policemen were injured in 3 different grenade attacks in Jaffna Wednesday night. Two Sri Lankan policemen were wounded when unidentified assailants lobbed a grenade into a police post in Navanthurai, a coastal suburb of the Jaffna town around 9:00 p.m. Wednesday. Two soldiers were wounded in Malusanthi junction near Nelliyadi in Vadamaradchi at 9:30 p.m. when unidentified assailants lobbed a grenade at an Army checkpoint.
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Resurgence event emphasizes Vavuniya Declaration, urges EU to reconsider stand

[TamilNet, Thursday, 27 October 2005, 18:04 GMT]
Thousands of people gathered in Vavuniya Urban Council grounds Thursday at 3:30 p.m. to reaffirm July 27 Vavuniya Declaration. Tamil National Alliance parliamentarians, academics, religious leaders and social activists attended the event which also urged the European Union to reconsider its stand on travel restrictions on Liberation Tigers officials on visiting EU member states. Vavuniya was the venue of the initial Tamil National Resurgence Conference that proclaimed that an environment must be created to enable Tamils to decide their political destiny calling for the Sri Lankan Armed forces to vacate the land and seas of NorthEast.
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University student killed in Vadaramardchi

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 October 2005, 10:53 GMT]
A Jaffna University student and a driver of a Canter ELF truck was killed Monday morning in the Vadamaradchi area, Police said. Mr. Karthikesu Senthoorchelvan, 22, of Varany, Thenmaradchi area was the victim of the unknown attackers.
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Missing fishermen produced in courts, normalcy restored in Vadamaradchi

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 August 2005, 09:27 GMT]
Mr.Arthur Tveiten, Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Trincomalee, on receipt of information his counterparts in Jaffna, met with the Sri Lanka Navy officials in Trincomalee regarding the release of the two fishermen in the custody of Sri Lanka Navy. The two persons were produced in Trincomalee Magistrate's Court Thursday morning by the Trincomalee Harbour Police. Magistrate Mr.S.Ramakamalan ordered the release of these two fishermen. The Magistrate further instructed the prison authorities to keep those fishermen in protective custody until September 1 till their relatives in Vadamaradchi arrive and take charge of them, legal sources said.
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Manatkadu protestors lay siege to SLA camp

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 August 2005, 15:50 GMT]
Protestors at Manatkadu in Vadamaradchi East threw stones and burning-tires on Sri Lanka Army (SLA) vehicles Wednesday night. Violent protests erupted in the area following reports that the two fishermen, who went missing on Sunday in the northern seas, and later said to be in the custody of the Sri Lanka Navy, were not handed over to their families Wednesday evening as promised by the Sri Lankan military officials. The protestors have laid siege to the 52-4 Brigade camp of the SLA at Manatkadu, villagers said. Tension prevails in the area.
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Hot spring said discovered in Katkovalam

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 August 2005, 04:14 GMT]
A hot spring was discovered in Punithanagar near Katkovalam, in Vadamaradchi East in the Jaffna district, in the process of digging for laying the foundation of a new house for tsunami victims Thursday, sources said.
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Saving accounts opened for Vadamaradchi tsunami orphans

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 June 2005, 15:01 GMT]
Saving accounts were opened Friday in the Thamileelam Bank with initial deposit of five thousand per child in the names of twenty-six children who lost their parents in the tsunami in Maruthankerni area in Vadamaradchchi east division in Jaffna district, sources said. The financial assistance was provided by well-wishers in the area.
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Sewing training centres opened in Vadamaradchi east

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 April 2005, 14:53 GMT]
Working Women Development Organization (WWDO) and Rural Rehabilitation Development Organization (RRDO) of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) Tuesday inaugurated two sewing training centres for tsunami affected women at Chempianpattu and Kaddaikadu-Mullian villages in the Vadamaradchi east division in the Jaffna district.
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Fizzled tsunami leaves two dead during evacuation

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 March 2005, 20:08 GMT]
So far, there is no indication of unusual wave activity in the sea said TamilNet correspondent for Batticaloa who visited a coastal part of the eastern town around 3 AM Tuesday. A boy was killed in a an accident involving a lorry in Mavadippalli and an old women died while fleeing in Kalmunai, according to initial casuality reports from Amparai. First "Tsunami" wave reached Colombo at about 1am (local time) and is less than one foot (10") in height according to information received by US NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency) measured at location with coordinates 6-59N 79-51E in Colombo.
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Big demo, march in Pt. Pedro

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 March 2005, 10:08 GMT]
More than two thousand Internally displaced persons (IDP) and fisherman of Jaffna's Vadamaradchi region marched and demonstrated in Pt. Pedro Monday demanding that the Sri Lanka army (SLA) leave schools, villages and farm lands it has garrisioned and that the SLA should lift restrictions on fishing. The march was organised by the Federation of Vadamaradchi Public Organisations.
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IDPs demand resettlement in HSZ

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 March 2005, 14:33 GMT]
Vadamaradchi East Fisheries Co-operative Societies Union (VEFCSU) has requested the Government of Sri Lanka to take immediate steps to allow all Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs) to resettle in their own lands in Nagarkovil West, Nagarkovil East, Nagarkovil South and Amban East, which are located inside the high security zone (HSZ), sources said.
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SLA stops post-tsunami project on Jaffna coast

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 February 2005, 11:28 GMT]
Sri Lanka army Monday stopped a ten million rupee project to clear Jaffna's Vadamaradchi coast of coral rocks ripped off the seabed by the Tsunami. Since the Tsunami hit Jaffna fishermen on this coast have been urging Sri Lankan government authorities and NGOs to help them remove the coral debris and make mooring points for their boats.
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Vadamaradchi fishermen fear serious damage to coral reefs

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 February 2005, 18:57 GMT]
Fishermen who setout out for fishing on 15 traditional "catamaran" fishing boats without outboard engines from the affected coastal villages from Thondamanaru to Point Pedro Munai in the Northen sea on Saturday, upon their return expressed fear that the coral reefs have been severely damaged by the tsunami devastation and the debris. They said this could affect the fishing in the region for a long time. Tsunami devastation has worsened fishermen's predicament from the already imposed restrictions on fishing in deep waters by the Sri Lankan Navy (SLN), said sources from the Federation of the Fishermen's Union.
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