Election travel restrictions at Omanthai Checkpoint

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 November 2005, 13:18 GMT]
In a meeting held at the Vavuniya secretariat Monday at 3.30 p.m., Sri Lanka Army (SLA) high level officials and, Vavuniya district election Commissioner and Government Agent Mr S Shanumugam, decided to restrict travel at the Omanthai checkpoint and disallow heavy vehicles during Sri Lanka presidential elections on 16th and 17th November, secretariat officials said.
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Leading Tamil educationist passes away

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 November 2005, 00:54 GMT]
Mr.Kandiah Thangarajah (65), leading educationist in Trincomalee district and who headed the organization committee of the Tamil National Resurgence Convention in Trincomalee passed away Wednesday night after a heart attack. His funeral was held Thursday evening at Hindu cemetery in the east port town amid large gathering of members of the public and friends.
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Japan gifts $1.3m medical equipment to hospitals

[TamilNet, Monday, 31 October 2005, 12:49 GMT]
Government of Japan handed over Rs. 130 million worth of Medical Equipment to improve the healthcare facilities in 33 hospitals in tsunami affected areas, a press release from Embassy of Japan issued in Colombo today said.
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The LTTE’s New Concept- Confederation: Taraki

[TamilNet, Monday, 31 October 2005, 04:41 GMT]
In the 31st July 1991 issue of Sri Lanka's English daily, Island International, popular journalist and military analyst, late Dharmeratnam Sivaram, portrays the 1991 battle of Elephant Pass as demonatrating the LTTE's capability as a conventional army and predicts how this emergent force will dictate the trajectory of Sri Lanka's war.
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New resettlement village in Puliyankulam celebrates opening

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 October 2005, 17:25 GMT]
Thirty two war affected families from refugee camps in Adapankulam, Poonthottam, Sithamparapuram and Manik Farm in Chettikulam moved Sunday morning at 10 a.m into a new resettlement village in Puliyankulam North built by Tamil Rehabilitaion Organization with funding support from NewZealand Tamil expatriates, sources in Kilinochchi said. The families were selected as the most poor and deserving of those languishing in the different refugee camps.
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Confrontation avoided as SLA lifts Thandikulam travel restrictions

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 October 2005, 02:55 GMT]
Tension between Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers manning the Thandikulam checkpoint and civilian escalated Friday as SLA soldiers blocked attendees to the Vavuniay Resurgence Convention to travel north into Vanni and youths who were prevented from attending the convention setup blockade across A9 north of SLA checkpoint, passengers affected by the blockade said.
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Amparai to hold Resurgence Convention

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 October 2005, 17:06 GMT]
The final event in the series of Tamil National Resurgence Convention is to be held in Amparai district in the east at the Thambiluvil Maha Vidiyalayam grounds on November 12, organizers said. Mr.Kanagasabai Pathmanathan, Amparai district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, has been visiting villages in Amparai to conduct consultative meetings with local Tamil activists, sources said.
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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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Vavuniya prepares for concluding resurgence event, grenade explodes

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 October 2005, 11:26 GMT]
Unidentified men lobbed a hand grenade inside compound of the Tamil National Resurgence committee Wednesday afternoon around 4:30 p.m. No one was injured in the explosion. Witnesses said that two men who lobbed the grenade escaped in a motorbike. The incident happened while Vavuniya residents are making preparations for the third month anniversary celebrations of the 27 July 2005 Vavuniya Proclamation.
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TNA, SLMM meet in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 October 2005, 10:40 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians Sivanathan Kishor , Sivasakthi Ananthan and Vino Noharathalingam met with Vavuniya Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) at the Vavuniya SLMM offices Monday morning, sources in Vavuniya said. The discussion centered on the National Resurgence Event scheduled to take place on the 27th of this month.
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Grama Sevaka officer shot dead in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 October 2005, 13:05 GMT]
A Grama Sevaka (village level) officier, Mr. Perera Weerasingham, 53, was shot and killed in Kankankulam, 18 km northwest of Vavuniya town, Vavuniya Police said. The GS of Kankankulam village was on his way home from work in a motorbike when two unidentified motorbike-riding gunmen gunned him down on Poovarasankulam - Chettikulam Road 4:45 p.m., police said.
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Sri Lankan UAV comes down in Vanni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 October 2005, 10:01 GMT]
An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) launched from the Joseph camp in Vavuniya for surveillance mission into the Liberation Tigers controlled area has come down in Vanni Wednesday afternoon, sources in Kilinochchi said. A UAV was seen coming down in Vignanikulam between 9th Mile and Karappukuththi, around 20 km northeast of Omanthai, according to civilian sources in Vanni. Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) sources in Colombo also confirmed that an UAV was missing.
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Consortium distributes leaflets for Trinco Resurgence Convention

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 October 2005, 12:26 GMT]
Consortium of Tamil organizations in Trincomalee began distributing leaflets announcing the Tamil Resurgence Convention scheduled to be held on 22 October Saturday at the Children's Park in front of the Youth Cultural Hall, from 9 a.m. till 12 noon, sources in Trinco said.
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Wickremasinghe begins election campaign in NorthEast

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 October 2005, 16:37 GMT]
Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, presidential candidate of the opposition United National Party (UNP) Friday began his election tour in the Northeast province, with first rally in Vavuniya town. Mr.Noordeen Mashor, former Minister and Vanni District Sri Lanka Muslim Congress organizer presided the meeting held at Vavuniya Urban Council grounds Friday afternoon.
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CTTU to strike on Teachers Day

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 October 2005, 18:24 GMT]
The Ceylon Tamil Teachers Union (CTTU) gave notice to Dr Tara de Mel, Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Higher education, that its members will go on one day sick leave as a token trade union action on October 5 as the Education Ministry has failed to fulfill its promises regarding its twenty five demands. The CTTU said that it will be compelled to go on continuous strike from October 24 if the demands are not met.


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Thousands attend Jaffna Pongu Thamil rally, seek Army withdrawal

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 September 2005, 14:51 GMT]
An estimated two hundred thousand people attended the Tamil Resurgence celebrations in Jaffna Friday at Jaffna University Grounds, calling for the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to vacate the Tamil homeland and declaring that the Tamils right to self-determination is non-negotiable. Speakers at the rally said the event recognizes the Vavuniya proclamation and condemned the one-sided punitive measures taken by the European Union against the Liberation Tigers.
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Danish group declares areas in Kanniya, Thiriyai mine free

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 September 2005, 05:34 GMT]
About 10,000 square meter area in Kanniya and about 8,000 square meter area in Thiriyai in the Trincomalee district have been declared mine free by the Danish Demining Group (DDG), civil society sources in Trincomalee said. Mr.Magnus Johansson, Technical Advisor of the DDG Wednesday and Thursday handed over "Release of Land Certificates" to the civil authority in these villages.
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Jaffna gets ready for sixth Tamil Resurgence Convention

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 September 2005, 15:00 GMT]
All roads in Jaffna district will lead to University Grounds Friday September 30 where the Tamil Resurgence Convention, is to be held. This is sixth in the series of such conferences held in recent months, first Vavuniya, second in Batticaloa, next in Killinochchi, fourth in Mullaitivu and fifth held at Mannar Wednesday.
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Tamil businessman kidnapped in Colombo

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 September 2005, 17:24 GMT]
A 35-years-old Tamil businessman from Vavuniya, Mr. Thirukumar Kalimuthu, 35, who was visiting Colombo on business has been abducted from a lodge on Colombo Dam street. Four unidentified person who entered the lodge Wednesday evening around 2:00 p.m. kidnapped the victim, occupants at the lodge said.
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Displaced threaten hunger strike

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 September 2005, 10:54 GMT]
More than one hundred Tamil families evicted from their traditional village Gothandar Nochchikulam Vavuniya six years ago by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) have demanded immediate resettlement in their villages and have threatened to go on hunger strike if the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) does not facilitate resettlement in one week. The villagers who met the SLMM in Vavuniya Monday morning pointed out that all 109 families were forcibly evicted and made internally displaced refugees (IDP), by the SLA on 14 November 1999 during a military operation, civil groups said.
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