Canadian parliamentarian visits Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 January 2005, 19:04 GMT]
Mr.Jim Karygiannis, Canadian parliamentarian, arrived in Jaffna with a team to witness the destruction caused by Tsunami of December 26 and console the victims. They visited the coastal areas of Valvettithurai, Athikovilady villages and welfare centres sheltering tsunami victims. He met with Mr.C.Ilamparithi, Jaffna district LTTE political head and visited the office of the Jaffna District Task Force, which is co-ordinating all relief and rehabilitation works in the district in Nelliyady.
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Counseling coordinators to start public awareness campaign

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 January 2005, 14:10 GMT]
Importance of urgently starting a public awareness campaign on the counseling needs for the survivors of tsunami disaster was discussed in a coordinating meeting of representatives of humanitarian organisations held Tuesday 2 pm at the North East Secretariat on Human Rights (NESOHR) located at Karadipokku in Kilinochchi, sources in Kilinochchi said.
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Center for Healthcare (CHC) calls for Coordination of Medical Teams

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 January 2005, 09:19 GMT]
Center for Healthcare (CHC) a nationally registered and Kilinochchi based NGO in Sri Lanka has called for all visiting medical teams to coordinate their services to maximize their efficiency in regions of need. A visiting Australian Medical Team has successfully established a model for screening all patients in specific camps with individual healthcare cards issued to each patient / family so that all medical interventions are documented. The organisation is keen to continue to extend this model to all remaining camps in the region, CHC sources said.
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Kofi Annan consoles Trinco Tamil, Muslim Tsunami victims

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 January 2005, 19:37 GMT]
Mr.Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations Saturday evening paid a thirty-minute visit to Trincomalee. He consoled Tsunami affected Tamil refugees at Alankerni Tamil School and Muslim victims sheltered in Kinniya Central College. UN officials cancelled the inspection of the Tsunami destroyed Kinniya government hospital site at last minute.
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Civil organizations in northeast submit their pleas to Kofi Annan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 January 2005, 16:51 GMT]
Civil organization representatives in northeast accompanied by a large crowd met Ms Penny Brune, UNICEF representative for Vanni, in Killinochchi on Friday and handed her written appeals from civil organizations. The appeals urged the visiting UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, to visit Vadamaradchi East and Mullaithivu areas that have been devastated by the tsunami attack. Ms Penny Brune after receiving the appeals said that she will ensure that all the appeals reach the UN Secretary General the same day.
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TRO initiates trauma counseling project for tsunami affected

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 January 2005, 14:02 GMT]
Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) in collaboration with the North East Provincial Ministry of Education, Cultural Affairs, Sports and Youth Affairs has launched a project to provide trauma counseling to students and others who are affected by the Tsunami disaster, TRO sources in Kilinochchi said.
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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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Security Forces continue to obstruct NorthEast relief effort- TRO

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 January 2005, 20:42 GMT]
"The Government of Sri Lanka has permitted Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) to engage in rehabilitation and reconstruction work in LTTE controlled as well as military controlled areas of the northeast. But the Special Task Force (STF) is acting as an obstacle to our mission. In Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Thirukovil, the STF personnel grabbed relief supplies from us and diverted them to other refugee camps of their choice," said Mr. K P Reggie, Executive Director of TRO, at the press conference in Colombo on Wednesday evening.
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"Inaccuracy in reporting damaging humanitarian delivery" - LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 January 2005, 13:27 GMT]
The LTTE issued an urgent appeal to the National and International Media to scrupulously verify ground information before reporting, and to avoid bias and inaccuracy in filing stories on post-Tsunami disaster situation in the North-East and the humanitarian delivery to the displaced, on Tuesday.
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PDS gears for phase two & three of tsunami relief in Northeast

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 January 2005, 16:45 GMT]
"The LTTE with its quick deployment ability and the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) with generous assistance from the Tamil Diaspora and the international NGOs, are tackling the immediate Tsunami relief needs, the first phase of the relief efforts. The Liberation Tigers are calling for international assistance to meet phase two and three of the relief effort", LTTE's Political Head Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan told TamilNet following a conference with Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr Hans Brattskar, in Killinochchi where they discussed the proper channeling of aid to northeast for phase two and three of Tsunami relief as being planned by PDS.
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PDS sends Australian and Korean doctors to the East

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 January 2005, 12:46 GMT]
Two teams of doctors who arrived in Kilinochchi on Monday from Australia and Korea have set off to the East. On Monday, Tamil Eelam Health Service (TEHS) in the East issued an urgent warning as heavy rains in Batticaloa-Amparai have increased the danger of infectious diseases. The medical teams were briefed by the Planning and Development Secretariat (PDS) on the ground situation in the East.
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PDS sets in motion the needs assessment for tsunami relief

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 January 2005, 06:39 GMT]
The Planning and Development Secretariat (PDS) of the Liberation Tigers has already set in motion the needs assessment process for Tsunami Relief in the northeast, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, Head of the LTTE's Political Wing told TamilNet Tuesday.
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LTTE should handle relief operation in its territory - Ranil

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 January 2005, 05:54 GMT]
Leader of the Main Opposition United National Front (UNF), Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, has said that the Liberation Tigers should handle the tsunami relief operation in the LTTE-held areas as they were the ones who handled the immediate rescue operation in those areas. Mr. Wickremesinghe, who is scheduled to visit the tsunami-wrecked areas in the Northern province Wednesday, has made these comments Monday in an exclusive interview with the Colombo-based Tamil daily, Sudar Oli.
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Donate liberally towards the relief efforts in the Northeast- CHC

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 January 2005, 23:34 GMT]
The Centre for Health Care (CHC), an NGO based in Kilinochchi, said that sufficient professionals, needed by the organisation for the moment, have already arrived in Northeast. Sources at CHC told TamilNet that they have urged the International community to donate liberally towards the relief efforts. More health professionals will be needed later when communicable diseases tend to break, the sources added. CHC have urged other medical professionals who wish to come to the North-East from around the world to arrive during the later part of next month.
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UNICEF official meets TRO, children in Mullaitivu

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 January 2005, 10:35 GMT]
Ms Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), travelled to Kilinochchi Monday morning around 8.30 a.m., where she met with children from Senthalir Illam who had escaped death and Mr. Reggie, Executive Director of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO).
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TNA to brief international community on northeast devastation

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 January 2005, 15:49 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) will soon brief the international community about the massive needs of the north-east that suffered the worst in December 26 Tsunami disaster, TNA sources said Sunday.
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UN provides relief worth millions to Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 January 2005, 16:40 GMT]
United Nations Country Team in Sri Lanka has provided relief assistance worth several millions of rupees including direct cash grants, materials such as food and non-food items, medicine and technical support since last Sunday when the devastating tsunami struck the island, United Nations Information Centre in a press release issued Saturday 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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Cut red tape to deliver urgent aid- LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 December 2004, 18:28 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers Thursday said that red tape should not impede or delay delivery of urgent international aid to the Tsunami hit areas of the northeast. Addressing representatives of international aid agencies and donor community in Kilinochchi Thursday, Mr. Thamilchelvan emphasised that the international community has a "moral responsibility" to ensure that humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka is "equitably distributed to the North-East". LTTE's Political Head stated clearly that the immediate relief measures would be best undertaken by the Task Force mechanism already set up at district level by the LTTE in coordination with the Government Agents of the affected districts.
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Thamilchelvan stresses urgent needs to Norway, international NGOs

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 December 2004, 10:38 GMT]
Mr. Thamilchelvan, Head of the LTTE Political Wing, met with representatives of more than 60 international and UN aid agencies in Kilinochchi at 11.30 am Thursday. The urgent needs of the NorthEast, caused by the tsunami which struck the coast on Sunday, were explained to the representatives. He stated both the immediate needs of those affected by the tsunami and their more intermediate needs. He explained that whatever little infrastructure has been built up was damaged or destroyed by the tsunami, sources in Kilinochchi told TamilNet. Further details of the meeting are yet to be disclosed.
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