TRO Provides Relief To Tsunami Victims: Urgent Need for Nurses

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 December 2004, 11:20 GMT]
Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), a non-governmental organization from Sri Lanka, has fully geared its administrative machinery to provide relief assistance to victims of all communities - Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese - in the northeast province. Nearly twenty thousand died and about five hundred thousand were displaced in Sunday's tsunami.
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Authorities Hinder Help to Tsunami Affected Regions

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 December 2004, 23:27 GMT]
Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) faces difficulties in conducting relief operations in the eastern district of Sri Lanka. Divisions of the Sri Lanka army and police as well as Sinhalese groups stop trucks with aid cargo at Habarana junction, which links Amparai, Batticaloa and Trincomalee districts, and divert them to the south saying that the three eastern districts do not need more aid.
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Latest Tsunami toll: 18,000 dead, 10,000 missing, 500,000 displaced

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 December 2004, 10:24 GMT]
Latest figures gathered by TamilNet from Sri Lanka Government sources indicate a casualty figures of 18,000 dead, 10,000 still missing and 500,000 displaced in the worst ever disaster Sri Lanka has encountered by the tsunami waves that hit the island Sunday morning.
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Sinhala Trade Unionist condemns war mongering by Southern politicians

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 December 2004, 03:32 GMT]
"People in the south are against the resumption of war. Power-seeking politicians infuse the idea of war in the minds of the people in the South. The Political parties, greedy for power, are driving fear into the minds of the southern people," said Mr. C. Jayathunga, General Secretary of the Lanka Guru Sangamaya (Teachers Union), the overwhelming majority of whose members are Sinhala Teachers, at an interview given to TamilNet during his recent visit to Jaffna. He also said that the means to achieve peace is for both parties to engage in talks both recognizing each other’s equality of status.
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Falk Rovik didn't represent Amnesty - Amnesty Norway

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 December 2004, 11:51 GMT]
Head of Information at Amnesty International Norway, Mr. John P. Egenæs , earlier on Tuesday, denied that a controversial Norwegian called Falk Rovik had represented his organisation at a conference held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo on Saturday, 18 November 2004. The conference was organised by hard-line forces in southern Sri Lanka opposed to the Norwegian facilitation of the peace process. Mr. Egenæs told TamilNet that the controversial Norwegian neither is, nor has ever been a spokesperson of Amnesty International Norway.
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The price of peace for the Sinhala rural poor

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 December 2004, 19:42 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s recent massive defence budget allocation, whilst preparing the military for a renewed war against the Liberation Tigers, has another vital role in domestic politics: the economy of the Sinhala rural poor is three times more dependent on military remittances than official poverty alleviation schemes. Earlier this month, Sri Lanka’s ruling party and the main opposition party, in a rare show of unity, joined together to vote in favor of the country's defense allocations for 2005. Only the main Tamil party, the Tamil National Alliance, opposed the defence budget.
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LTTE leaders discuss Trinco development with NEPC officials

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 December 2004, 17:08 GMT]
"The utmost goal of our liberation struggle is to free our people from all sufferings and to ensure that they lead a life in their areas with all basic needs are met,"said Mr.S.Elilan, LTTE Trincomalee district political head addressing a one day- discussion with regard to the Trincomalee district development which was attended by top officials of the North-East Provincial Council (NEPC). The discussion was held at Kaddaiparichchan Vipulananda School in the LTTE controlled Muttur east, down south of east port town Sunday.
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TRO assists flood victims in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 December 2004, 03:17 GMT]
The Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) has been distributing relief packages to flood victims in the Trincomalee district since Thursday. TRO Trincomalee district secretariat workers Thursday and Friday supplied relief packages to all victims irrespective of any differences in the north of the district. Each package contains relief material including dry ration worth about five hundred rupees, sources said.
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RSF says concerned over attacks on Tamil media

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 December 2004, 21:12 GMT]
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Monday voiced concern over threats to the news media in the war-torn north and east of Sri Lanka after a Tamil-language daily newspaper and the premises of a radio and TV group were the targets of violent attacks two days apart. RSF said in a statement that the attacks not only posed a threat to journalists but also denied the public reasonable access to news and information. It called for thorough investigations to identify and punish those responsible.
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Halt the drift and resume peace process, NPC tells GoSL, LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 December 2004, 14:19 GMT]
''The danger in the present situation is the possibility of escalation that suddenly goes out of control of both sides and plunges the country into inadvertent war...We also call upon the two parties to make a concerted effort to ensure that the safeguards in the Ceasefire Agreement are functional,'' said the National Peace Council, in a press release issued in Colombo Thursday.
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Two nations theory is not new to Sri Lanka-TNA MP

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 December 2004, 14:08 GMT]
"Theory of two nations is not a new idea to Sri Lanka," said Mr.Joseph Pararajasingham, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Saturday participating in the committee stage debate on the votes for Labour Relations and Foreign Employment in Parliament. He reminded the prophetic speech made by a Sinhala leader Dr.Colvin R.De Silva of Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) forty-eight years ago during the debate on the Sinhala only bill that "Do you want one nation with two languages or two nations with one language?" parliamentary sources said.
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Tamils won’t go against India’s strategic interests - MP

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 December 2004, 14:17 GMT]
‘The desire to draw limits on the Tamils’ right to self-determination makes the Sri Lankan State align itself with any power that is willing to play along, even to the extent of blatantly seeking the interference of super-powers that would compromise, and put in jeopardy, the strategic interests of India’, said Mr. Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, Tamil National Alliance MP for Jaffna, speaking on the committee stage debate on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Parliament Friday. The Tamil people won't allow themselves to be used to upset the strategic balance of South Asia, the MP said.
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Police re-imposes curfew in Trincomalee town

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 November 2004, 15:50 GMT]
Although there were no violent incidents, the Police Tuesday re-imposed curfew in Trincomalee and Uppuveli police divisions from 5 p.m. till 6 a.m. Wednesday as a preventive measure, police sources said.
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Sinhala mob attempts to destroy Eelam cut-out during hartal

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 November 2004, 08:37 GMT]
Trincomalee Police Monday morning dispersed a group of Sinhalese that was attempting to pull down the large Tamil Eelam cutout erected in front of the Paththirakali Ambal Temple, during the general shut down in the eastern port town Monday. The cutout was erected in the heart of Trincomalee to mark the Heroes Day celebrations week. The cut-out is still standing, police said.
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Trincomalee town under 18-hour curfew

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 November 2004, 06:42 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police clamped a curfew for eighteen-hours in Trincomalee town and its suburbs from Monday noon till Tuesday morning 6 a.m. following sporadic violent incidents reported from various parts of the town during the general shut down called by the Tamil Peoples Forum of the Trincomalee district in protest to the killings and assault on Tamil civilians in the Tamil districts of the northeast by members of the State armed forces.
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Sampanthan's son, aide injured in attack by Sinhala group

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 November 2004, 17:31 GMT]
Ramesh Senthooran, youngest son of Mr.R.Sampanthan, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary group leader and his aide Mr.Gopal were injured in an attack by a group of Sinhalese believed to be members of a Sinhala political party, at Srimavopura, a Sinhala settlement located about 2 km off north of east port town in Uppuveli area on Saturday night around 7 p.m. The injured were warded in the Trincomalee general hospital, police 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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Sri Lanka Cease Fire becoming irrelevant – Tamil MP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 November 2004, 10:30 GMT]
The Cease Fire Agreement would become increasingly irrelevant if there is not going to be any progress on the peace process, warned Tamil Parliamentarian Mr. Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam speaking on the on the second reading of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government’s first (2005) Budget on Saturday. “The Tamil people’s overwhelming desire for peace should not be allowed to be taken for granted. Our repeated recommitment to the ceasefire is being misinterpreted by this government to be a sign of weakness”, the MP said.
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Sinhala clubs join Trinco Heroes' day sporting events

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 November 2004, 01:31 GMT]
The inaugural event of sports tournament organized by the Tamileelam Sports Section was held at the Trincomalee McHeyzer Stadium Monday. Of the sixteen teams that have entered the Volley Ball tournament all except two are from predominantly Sinhalese sports clubs including Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and Sri Lanka Police teams, according to tournament organizers.
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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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