#13 Waves of Love
an introduction will follow soon
Monthly Archive for September, 2006
Page 3 of 5
#12 Sam’s Hut
Arugam.info is unsure, but we seem to recall that this small, stylish mini resort was known as “Sam & Stu” first, then “Samantha’s Follies”.
An interesting history, in such a case.
An odd couple from Jersey, Channnel islands came to the Bay and tried to live there happy and …forever?
Something must have happened, between them, and they split up.
Samantha went with her new partner to New Zealand – Sam was never seen or heard of again (the latter came to a surprise to many).
Whatever, the place is now managed by a Muslim Family and we have reports that it is getting back to its former glory.
Aid workers in Sri Lanka face escalating risk and red tape
26-09-2006
Although the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government recently expressed interest in renewed negotiations, the specter of brutal killings, abductions, and disappearances continues to hang over the island nation. Just last week, 11 Muslim civilians were killed in the eastern province of Ampara. International and local aid workers dealing with the humanitarian crises created by the conflict as well as the 2004 tsunami worry about the steadily shrinking space for them to work in Sri Lanka Currently, they say, access to conflict-ridden areas is difficult, and escalating security concerns and government red tape are creating a stranglehold. On top of that, they often feel caught in the middle of the conflict. Aid workers silently complain that Sinhalese hardliners browbeat them, often accusing them of being pro-Tamil. In recent days, there have been stray incidents of Sinhalese mobs attacking convoys of aid workers in Muttur. And in Tiger-held territories in the eastern Ampara district, Sri Lankan aid workers employed with international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have been reportedly intimidated by the Tigers to make them quit working in the region. \”We never take sides,\” says an aid worker. \”But we feel sandwiched between the two sides.\” The worsening security situation is apparent in the 419 abductions – mostly Tamil civilians – reported by the country\’s Human Rights Commission since last December. Tuesday, fierce fighting broke out between the Sri Lankan navy and the naval wing of the Tigers along the eastern coast, leading to casualties on both sides. Since the conflict reignited this year, at least 215,000 people have been displaced and 1,900 killed. That\’s on top of the 325,000 displaced and 40,000 killed by the 2004 tsunami. In the town of Muttur, in early August, 17 aid workers, mostly Tamils, from the French group Action Against Hunger (ACF), were mysteriously killed. The UN called it the deadliest attack on aid workers since the bombing of UN headquarters in Baghdad in 2003. The Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission (SLMM) accused the government of orchestrating the killings. \”Taking into consideration the fact that the security forces had been present in Muttur at the time of the incident, it appears highly unlikely to blame other groups for the killings,\” said Ulf Henricsson, the outgoing head of SLMM. The government refuted the allegations, using forensic reports to suggest that the Tigers were in control of Muttur at the time. The government has said it will invite internationally reputed judges and activists to make an independent inquiry. Before this incident, in early May, grenades were lobbed in the vicinity of three international NGOs offering tsunami relief in Muttur, injuring one foreign worker and several civilians. No suspects have be arrested, and all three agencies have quit Muttur. Besides safety concerns, new bureaucratic formalities are stymieing aid agency efforts. In the wake of the ACF killings in August, the Sri Lankan government asked expatriate staff to apply for work permits. Five hundred foreign nationals working for about 90 charities have applied but most have yet to receive permits. In the meantime, they say their vehicles are not allowed to go in or come out of the restive east. \”Is it our fault that the government hasn\’t yet issued the permits?\” asks an agitated aid worker requesting anonymity. In addition, some aid workers fear the permits will be place- specific and impede access to restive or Tiger-controlled areas. Creating more confusion, last month the government also made it mandatory for expatriate staff of agencies to register with the Defense Ministry. After failing to issue the registration, the government reversed the mandate – but didn\’t inform security forces manning government checkpoints. \”We\’ve been very inconvenienced by the new, haphazardly implemented measures,\” says an aid worker. \”We\’re here to work for the poor, for the needy. But we cannot if you put impediments in our way.\” Steve Brick, an independent aid worker who organizes puppet shows in relief camps in coordination with UNICEF, is disillusioned by the new legislation. Amid delays in receiving his permit, he\’s been unable to schedule his shows around the Muttur area. \”My puppets won\’t stop war,\” he says. \”But my shows give them something to cheer about.\” Government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella denies the government is harassing international NGOs. He points out that a glut of aid workers – working with more than 1,000 NGOs – entered Sri Lanka immediately after the tsunami in December 2004 and have been working in all parts of the island including the war-zone in the north and east. They came on tourist visas but were working in the island, and this \”has to be corrected,\” he says. Although Jeevan Thiagarajah, executive director of the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies, an umbrella group for aid agencies in Sri Lanka, agrees the government is justified in introducing permits, he says, aid workers face a \”generally unhelpful, hostile environment.\” Mr. Thiagarajah worries that the incoherent implementation of the new legislation and the alarming security situation could lead NGOs to severely curtail their aid programs or leave the country entirely. In the wake of the brutal killings in Muttur, ACF earlier this month announced it would scale back its operations. The UN and the ICRC, too, warned earlier this month that if the mounting security threat does not lessen, they could stop their operations in Sri Lanka. Only UN agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross have access to Tiger-held territories and areas where the Tigers and government forces skirmish. Analysts warn of a catastrophe if they pull out. A few aid workers who have received work permits are cautiously beginning to trickle back into the Muttur area. \”The government and the rebels need to be upfront and say that they will not impede or harm humanitarian workers or their work,\” Thiagarajah says.
see the original article:
http://www.lankaeverything.com/vinews/srilanka/20060926235948.php
USAID Senior Official Wins Prestigious Service to America Award
Wednesday September 27, 6:21 pm ET
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 /PRNewswire/ — Mark Ward, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Asia and the Near East bureau, will be presented the International Affairs Medal at tonight’s Service to America Medal annual awards program. The Service to America Medals are sponsored by the Atlantic Media Company and the Partnership for Public Service and recognize the accomplishments of America’s public servants.
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Having served USAID in the Foreign Service for 20 years, Ward is being acknowledged for his leadership of the U.S. recovery and reconstruction efforts after the Asia Tsunami in 2004 and the South Asia earthquake of 2005.
With the onset of the Tsunami, which claimed nearly 200,000 lives, USAID was able to respond immediately, providing life-saving food, water, medical care and shelter. Under Ward's leadership as the head of the Agency's Tsunami task force, longer-term projects such as the reconstruction of water systems and roads were begun. Key initiatives that Ward steered included the rehabilitation of 50 miles of the major coastal road in Aceh, Indonesia, and the reconstruction of the 160-meter Arugam Bay Bridge in Sri Lanka which was destroyed by the tsunami.
A former USAID Mission Director in Pakistan, Ward's service as chair of the Agency's South Asia Earthquake Task Force, provided invaluable insight helping to create innovative strategies to provide relief for earthquake victims, including support from public/private partnerships. Continuing this expertise, he serves as the U.S. Government advisor for the South Asia Earthquake Relief Fund, a consortium of American corporate CEOs who were asked by President Bush to raise private funding for relief and reconstruction.
Ward, married with two sons, is a native of San Francisco and received both his undergraduate and juris doctorate degrees from the University of California at Berkley.
For more information on USAID's Tsunami and South Asia Earthquake efforts please visit the following web pages:
http://www.usaid.gov/locations/asia_near_east/tsunami http://www.usaid.gov/locations/asia_near_east/south_asia_quake/ Public Information: +1-202-712-4810 http://www.usaid.gov
Source: U.S. Agency for International Developmentsee the original article:
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060927/dcw067.html?.v=45
The Bay is sunny, the surf is good, all is quiet and peaceful.
An empty beach & a warm, blue ocean is waiting for YOU!
Do YOU wish to support Arugam Bay?
The best and most direct way is so simple:
Reward us with your visit!
Just make your way due East, across the island from Colombo on the A4 and visit us!
You will have a great vacation, the few businesses offering services will have something to do and your money spent here will directly help us to recover on our own devices.
Should you require transport, and you wish to be collected from anywhere, at any time our local taxi operations are also very happy to get a little income.
Simply drop a mail to:
ArugamTaxi@gmail.com
| Sri Lanka: USAID to reassess programs in Sri Lanka |  |
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| Tuesday, 26 September 20 | |
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Newly arrived Mission Director of the U.S. Agency for International Development Rebecca W. Cohn has said that the USAID is reassessing all its existing programs in Sri Lanka to determine the most appropriate direction for U.S. foreign assistance in the coming years, in light of the renewed conflict. “It’s important to work in a participatory way and involve the people we are assisting in the decisions regarding the projects we undertake,” she was quoted as saying by a press release issued by the US Embassy in Sri Lanka Tuesday. “In the current political climate,” Ms Rebecca Cohn said, “we must reevaluate where and how our assistance should be programmed most effectively.” USAID, responsible for U.S. foreign economic assistance to developing countries, works closely with the Department of State to align programs and receives policy guidance from and reports to the U.S. Secretary of State. Full text of the press release issued by the US Embassy in Colombo, follows: Rebecca Cohn: Future USAID Programs Will be based on ‘Positive Partnerships’ COLOMBO - Newly arrived Mission Director Rebecca W. Cohn will call upon more than two decades of experience with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to help meet the development challenges of a country affected by more than twenty years of civil war, renewed conflict and the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami. Among the most important principles that will guide Ms. Cohn’s leadership of USAID is approaching programs with a strong understanding and sensitivity toward the culture and society of Sri Lanka, along with addressing key issues in a manner inclusive of all stakeholders in development initiatives and support to the peace process in Sri Lanka. “Forging positive partnerships with the government, the development community, civil society, the private sector, and the people of Sri Lanka should be the foundation of USAID programs in Sri Lanka,” Ms. Cohn said. “It’s important to work in a participatory way and involve the people we are assisting in the decisions regarding the projects we undertake.” In light of the renewed conflict, USAID is reassessing all its existing programs in Sri Lanka to determine the most appropriate direction for U.S. foreign assistance in the coming years. “In the current political climate,” she said, “we must reevaluate where and how our assistance should be programmed most effectively.” “Without peace, sustained meaningful development cannot take place,” Ms. Cohn added. “Peace is not a U.S. government agenda, but a universal one. We hope our programs can help build bridges between communities, just as it has literally begun to build a new bridge over Arugam Bay.” Ms. Cohn holds a bachelor’s degree in Conservation of Natural Resources from the University of California-Berkeley and a Masters in Public Health from the University of Hawaii-Manoa in International Health, Population & Family Planning. She is accompanied in Sri Lanka by her husband, Steve, and their 19-year-old son Joshua. An older son, Benjamin, 25, lives and works in California. She plans to serve four years here. “I hope under my leadership that USAID can have a positive impact on Sri Lanka – its people and their future,” Ms. Cohn said. “To the degree that any donor can play a role, I hope that at the end of my tour, we will have facilitated in laying the foundation for peace and prosperity.” A federal agency, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is responsible for around the world. It assists countries in undertaking democratic and economic reforms, recovering from disaster, and trying to rise above poverty. It is based in Washington DC, has field offices all over the world, and a $3.9 billion budget for 2005, funded by U.S. taxpayers. see the original article: http://www.sibernews.com/the-news/sri-lanka/usaid-to-reassess-programs-in-sri-lanka-200609265791/
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Arugam Bay has always been left to its own devices.
During the long civil war the Bay was entirely cut off from the rest of the island, indeed the check point at the only bridge closed at night. Every night.
At that time, for 20 years we had no doctor and not even one single police man in town, ever.
When a sort of peace settled, in 2002, little changed, but we had better access to PottuVille ‘hospital’, even at night. And for better or worse we had a regular police presence. No other infastructure was invested into at all. But we enjoyed being connected to mains power and some selected telephone lines this century.
December 2004 came along and everyone focused on Galle. Nobody reached Arugam Bay until 2005 and most would agree that activities of the few NGO’s passing through our resort were no help at all; most activities were perhaps even counter productive.
All large Organizations actually stayed in Ampara or PottuVille or helped in Panama. In places not affected by the floods and well inland.
Again, the Bay recovered quite well, largely on its own and just with the help of a few former guests and some private individuals.
Hon. President Mahindra Rajapakse promised to give ‘very special’ assistance to Hambantota (his own home district) and the tourist resort of Arugam Bay.
This Presidential promise has been well implimented in Hambamtota; the Bay however is still waiting. For a road, a bridge or better: a BY-Pass to this very day. Or anything else.
All sorts of Organizations promised all sorts or ‘Projects’ – but none of them were ever even started.
The recent excodus of all but a handul of foreigners coupled with some totally unjustified travel warnings by a few western Governments our 2006 winter ‘season’ will see the final breaking point for many businesses in the Bay.
Having borrowed heavily, relying on at least a little business and some earnings, or trusting empty promises the majority of our hard working and optimistic hoteliers have no choice but to close for good.
It is impossible to pay the (by now) very high bills or pay wages to their staff as suddenly there is no more income.
AbHa regrets that the proven Association is no more in a position to help anyone financially. We are as good as bankrupt since giving our cash reserves away to the suffering and poor of our area in 2005.
We are looking into ways to reward everyone who has the ability to help themselves.
Sadly what seems to happen is the other way round: Only lazy & incapable guys seem to qualify for assistance.
In more than one case a totally unfair competition to a long established business has been funded by one particular NGO, compounding our difficulties.
Has anyone an idea what we should do?
Please post your recommendation below!
AbHa is committed to report responsibly and directly from the very spot, Arugam Bay.
(see also the post “Old man learned” below) Just as the British Foreign office imposes a travel warning from about 10,000km distance (see press cuttings) our local analysts have no hesitation to state that all is well in the Bay, in Panama and all surrounding areas.
The Muslim town of PottuVille is also calm and has never presented any danger to anyone as a transit point in any event.
AbHa confirms that although the Association is committed to promote tourism AbHa will always put the safety of our visitors first. This is why AbHa was the very first to report on recent ethnic unrests, indeed we are the only ones with good photos. W of course also assisted anyone wishing to leave and we exercised extreme caution by responsibly recommending to wait until the dust had fully settled.
Please be assured that we have no hesitation to recommend Arugam Bay again as a safe, peaceful holiday destination.
Trust us! This is not a simple out of date Tourist promotion site!
www.arugam.info is a fully interactive, democratic source of top and accurate information!
We will be the first to report if this should any situation ever change.
Frankly it seems highly unlikely that there will be another unrest – taking all local and underlying at factors into consideration. Everybody has learned a lot and everyone regrets the recent outbreak of anger.
Which was NEVER directed against any VISITOR of course.
If anything, many feel that our nicely mixed Community has emerged stronger and more tolerant and stable than ever before.
Courtesy: Daily Mirror – September 23, 2006
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission was Friday granted access to the lone survivor of the Pottuvil massacre. Kareem Meera Mohideen is warded at the Ampara General Hospital receiving treatment for severe cut injuries. Police guarding the patient prevented SLMM monitors from seeing him Wednesday citing his poor state of health and hospital policy which did not allow visitors, casting doubts over the transparency of ongoing inquiries.
However a second attempt by the monitors Friday proved successful and the SLMM spokesman said the visit was satisfactory and the monitors would continue their probe before releasing a report.
“We managed to visit the patient Friday. We are satisfied with the access granted and will now continue with our inquiries before releasing a report on our findings,†SLMM spokesman Thorfinnur Omarsson said.
As inquiries were still progressing, he refused to say if the monitors had managed to record a statement from the victim who was earlier said to be in a serious condition. However the spokesman quoted hospital doctors as saying the victim was expected to fully recover from his injuries suffered during the brutal attack in which 10 of his colleagues were killed.
It should be noted that the police while refusing access to the monitors on Wednesday, had said the victim was not in a condition to speak for at least another two weeks due to the severe injuries on his throat.
The victim is under tight police guard with restricted access to include even his immediate family members as a result of the controversy over the incident with the Government accusing the LTTE, while residents blame the STF.
Published: Sep 23, 2006 12:58:24 GMT
see the original article:
http://www.tamilcanadian.com/page.php?cat=145&id=4393
The Associated Press/ Herald Tribune
The Bay, PottuVille, Panama and all surrounding areas are quiet and very peaceful again we are happy to report.
Furthermore, there are indications on all fronts that this weeks disturbances have been nothing more than an isolated incident.
The entire Community is reflecting on this weeks sad events. In fact, here is an excellent chance -again (…26/12/04….)- that Arugam Bay will be a better, even more harmonious place in future.
Everyone is working very hard at reconciliation at this point, discussing underlying issues and the reasons leading to the sudden and unexpected outbreak of emotions.
Everyone in the wider area, connected with Tourism or not, has suffered in one way or another. Therefore we pray that the lessons learned will be act as a constant reminder and warning.
All people interviewed are convinced that this weekend will finally close a sad chapter in the history of the Bay.
And we just have to start all over again to recover our good international reputation.
All sides specially regret the fact that the few tourists which we managed to attract this year have packed their bags, surf boards and left. Their reports to respective Embassies have resulted in travel warnings being issued by a number of Countries as a result.
It is stressed, however, that at no point there has been any danger to the safety and security of any visitor to Arugam Bay.
Arugam Bay was devastated by the tsunami, but the people began to rebuild. Things were looking better, until the Tamil Tigers tried to kill the Sri Lankan army chief.
By Kevin Sites, Wed Jun 21, 11:54 AM ET
The few surfers that come to Arugam Bay are rewarded. » View
But tonight they’re out of the water early. Mostly Aussies, along with a handful of Japanese, they’re keen to see day two of the World Cup soccer matches, Australia versus Japan, on the bar’s satellite television set.
As the first round of beers is poured, the national anthems are played before the start of the match. The Aussies sing along to the sounds of Waltzing Matilda. Everyone seems to savor the good fortune to be in this place, at this moment.
It is a well-earned moment of serenity in what has been a tumultuous two years for the people of Arugam Bay and the surrounding areas.
The Siam View Inn had 22 rooms before the tsunami hit. Now it has four. The owner, a German named Manfred, is a quiet but determined guy who knows how to get things done. He is rebuilding slowly, with the hope that if he does, they — the tourists — will come.
The reputation of having been devastated by the tsunami was obviously bad for business, and though there has been progress, the region is far from reconstructed. Officially, over 30,000 Sri Lankans were killed by the 2004 tsunami, many of them in this area on Sri Lanka’s southeast coast. Thousands more here are still living a rudimentary existence in thatch houses without water or electricity.
But businesses like the Siam View, struggling to rebuild in the aftermath of the tsunami, began to see a light at the end of the tunnel: the possibility of becoming, if not a mainstream tourist spot, at least a bragging-rights stop for the young, hip, “Lonely Planet”-type traveler.
Perfect water, shattered lives » View
But then, in April, the Tamil Tiger rebels used a female suicide bomber, a “Black Tigress,” in an assassination attempt in Colombo against Sri Lanka’s army chief, Lt. General Sarath Fonseka. The attempt only injured Fonseka, but likely killed any hopes for rekindling a viable tourist trade in Arugam Bay.
“Sixty people canceled on me after that,” says K.M. Rifei, one of the managers at the Siam View Inn. “They were from all over the world, too — Germany, England, Australia.”
Rifei is troubled by the developments, but he’s seen enough tragedy in his life that his emotional range seems wisely shifted to neutral. Rifei says he lost 17 members of his family in the tsunami, including his son, who was just one-and-a-half years old.
“When the tsunami hit,” he says, as we sit on the deck of restaurant overlooking the beach, “my family was all in the water, including my son.”
Now the challenge, the same for everyone here, is surviving the tragedy after the tragedy. If the world’s most deadly natural disaster wasn’t enough, Sri Lanka’s slow slide out of a 2002 cease-fire agreement between the government and the Tamil Tigers and back into civil war now seems not only inevitable, but already in progress.
The economic costs are already high. Two pro surfing events scheduled to take place in Arugam Bay this summer have been canceled because of the violence.
“We weren’t expecting much from them, though,” says 24-year-old Asmin, whose father and uncle own the Tropicana, a small surfboard rental shop, and handful of beachside rental cabanas. “They’d probably all stay at five star hotels somewhere else.”
Asmin and his family are Muslims, like the majority of the people in this area, and so don’t directly share in the Sinhalese versus Tamil feud that has divided Sri Lanka for decades.
Jamaldeen, Asmin’s father, says the people here have a good relationship with government security forces, especially the elite police commandos known as the Special Task Force (STF), who are in charge of this area.
Left behind after the tsunami, violence now threatens Arugam Bay. » View
“The Tigers aren’t active here but the government perceives this as an area in which they operate,” says Jamaldeen, “so they don’t invest a lot to help counter that reputation.”
It is, I think, a dilemma like the legendary scene in Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now” in which American Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore (an avid surfer), played by Robert Duvall, covets a stretch of beach held by the enemy (Charlie) simply for its surf.
When his men protest that the beach is heavily fortified, Kilgore responds, “Charlie don’t surf!” and orders an attack on the beach.
Like Charlie, Tiger may not surf either, but the perception of potential violence here, as in other areas of the country, hasn’t made Arugam Bay seem like a safe spot for many mainstream travelers to hit the water.
Jamaldeen says that the ongoing dearth of tourists could eventually do what the tsunami did not: kill their business.
And while businesses struggle to survive, many tsunami survivors in the region are also still doing the same, even a year and a half later.
In one refugee camp a few miles from the beach, hundreds of families are just scraping by, they say, without any assistance.
Kaleander Musama says she, her husband and six children got a large water tank from the government a few days after the tsunami, but that was the last thing they ever got — since then there has been no one to refill it.
As I photograph the family, an angry old woman from the camp confronts me.
“You people are like the marauding elephants that come and ransack our homes and leave us with nothing,” says the woman, Yasim Bawa. “Three hundred photographers have come here and taken our picture and nothing has changed.”
I ask her why things haven’t changed, why the government hasn’t helped them more.
“You know what I got from the government after the tsunami?” she asks, half smiling now — “a coupon for 100 rupees (about $1).”
Things are a little better at another refugee camp further up the road where the Sri Lankan Lion’s Club has helped build dozens of new houses with concrete walls and corrugated tin roofs.
Still, the trauma of the event still lives with all of the families here.
Forty-two-year-old Mohammed Bahdurdeen, a tall, proud-faced man, makes a living as a fisherman when he can hire onto a local boat. But those days are often few and far between.
Mohammed Bahdurdeen and familyMohammed places his hands on the shoulders of his six-year-old son Ajiwath, a boy seemingly full of energy — if not words.
“Since the tsunami he doesn’t speak anymore,” says Mohammed. “I think the trauma was too much for him.”
Others here can speak, but have tired of it when nothing seems to change.
Back at the Siam View Inn, the world cup match is over with the Australians beating the Japanese 3-1.
As the crowd, a few at a time, pays their tabs and heads out, there are smiles on the faces of the employees behind the bar. It was a good night — the kind of night they haven’t seen in quite some time — and with the increasing violence, may not see for some time again.
It is, however, a place stubbornly committed to optimism in the face of challenging times.
Above the bar on a whiteboard is a message in blue marker written on the day of the tsunami. It has not been wiped clean since.
It reads, “This event is not the end, just a new beginning. A great chance for all of us. Posted 20 hours, December 26, 04.”
see the original article and blog:
http://hotzone.yahoo.com/b/hotzone/blogs6318
Herald Tribune
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka The British Foreign Office upgraded a travel warning to cover a Muslim-dominated eastern area of Sri Lanka, as daily fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels continued to make the country unsafe.
In overnight violence, a Tamil Tiger rebel was killed in a gunbattle in the volatile northern Jaffna Peninsula, the military said Saturday. It also accused separatists of murdering a civilian woman Friday in the eastern town of Batticaloa.
The rebels were not immediately available to comment on the incidents.
A statement posted on the Foreign Office’s Web site Friday advised against travel to Ampara town and Arugam Bay due to “the continued deterioration of the security situation,” after the massacre of 10 Muslims in the area sparked violent riots earlier in the week.
On Monday, the bodies of 10 Muslim laborers were found in a remote jungle in Muslim-dominated Pottuvil, an area about 250 kilometers (155 miles) east of the capital, Colombo.
Muslim protesters took to the streets of Pottuvil on Wednesday, claiming an elite police force was responsible for the slayings. Police, who denied the allegations, fired on the protesters, wounding 14, then imposed a temporary curfew.
British authorities have been advising against traveling to the north and east of Sri Lanka since renewed fighting between government troops and ethnic Tamil Tiger rebels broke out in August. More than 1,000 combatants and civilians have been killed in the resurgent violence.
The Tamil rebels began fighting in 1983 for a separate homeland in the north and east for Sri Lanka’s largest ethnic minority. The conflict was nominally halted by a Norway-brokered cease-fire in 2002 although the recent wave of violence has threatened to drag the country back into full-scale civil war.
Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar on Friday met the Tamil Tigers’ political leader, Suppiah Thamilselvan, in the northern rebel stronghold Kilinochchi. The two discussed a recent rash of abductions, the rebels said on their official Web site. No additional details were available.
Hundreds of civilians have been killed or have disappeared in shadowy circumstances since December, when the latest surge of fighting began in earnest.
see the original article:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/23/asia/AS_GEN_Sri_Lanka_Violence.php
Britain extends travel warning to Sri Lanka to Muslim east International Herald Tribune, France – 6 hours ago COLOMBO, Sri Lanka The British Foreign Office upgraded a travel warning to cover a Muslim-dominated eastern area of Sri Lanka, as the military reported four …
Tourists warned over Sri Lanka trips as violence spreads Irish Examiner, Ireland – 15 hours ago The British Foreign Office today broadened its travel warning for Sri Lanka to include an eastern area where the massacre of 10 Muslims sparked violent riots …
Britain expands Sri Lanka travel warning after Muslim unrest International Herald Tribune, France – 16 hours ago COLOMBO, Sri Lanka The British Foreign Office on Friday broadened its travel warning for Sri Lanka to include an eastern area where the massacre of 10 Muslims …
Under fire, under siege: Hard time Sri Lanka style Reuters – 19 hours ago By Simon Gardner. KANKASANTURAI, Sri Lanka (Reuters) – Besieged by Tamil Tiger artillery fire and surrounded by 40,000 troops in …
Sri Lankan police detain man with explosive suicide belts International Herald Tribune, France – 21 hours ago COLOMBO, Sri Lanka Sri Lankan police on Friday detained a suspected Tamil Tiger rebel with two suicide explosive belts while on the way to the capital in an …
Sri Lanka: Tamil Tiger rebels kill ethnic minority Tamil civilian … International Herald Tribune, France – 23 hours ago COLOMBO, Sri Lanka Suspected Tamil rebels fatally shot an ethnic minority Tamil civilian in northwestern Sri Lanka overnight as troops found the bullet-riddled …
Residents try to flee Jaffna NDTV.com, India – Sep 21, 2006 Hundreds of people are trying to flee from Sri Lanka’s Jaffna peninsula’s. Weeks after government forces fought back an offensive …
Sri Lanka Air Force bombs rebel positions in north People’s Daily Online, China – Sep 21, 2006 Sri Lanka Air Force conducted air raids on Tamil Tiger artillery positions in the northern Jaffna peninsula on Thursday, defense officials said. …
Terrified residents fleeing Sri Lanka’s battered Jaffna Peninsula International Herald Tribune, France – Sep 21, 2006 JAFFNA, Sri Lanka Artillery thundered into the night as hundreds of people waited in a darkened security zone for a ferry that would take them away from this …
Tiger rebels kill a dissident member in East Lanka Hindustan Times, India – Sep 21, 2006 Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels fatally shot one of their members who broke away from the separatist movement in Sri Lanka’s volatile east, the military said on …
International Herald Tribune, France – Sep 21, 2006 COLOMBO, Sri Lanka The Sri Lankan army killed a Tamil Tiger rebel in a gunbattle in the restive northern Jaffna Peninsula overnight, the military said Thursday …
Sri Lanka’s Jaffna adapts to siege, but food a worry Reuters AlertNet, UK – Sep 21, 2006 By Simon Gardner. JAFFNA, Sri Lanka, Sept 21 (Reuters) – Heavily armed troops man razor wire checkpoints, a curfew is on and food …
Sri Lankan police shoot 14 Muslim civilians during protest Hindu, India – Sep 20, 2006 Colombo, Sept 21. (AP): Police opened fire on Muslim protesters in eastern Sri Lanka, wounding 14 civilians, officials have said. …
UN torture investigator to visit Sri Lanka next year International Herald Tribune, France – Sep 20, 2006 GENEVA The United Nations’ special investigator on torture said Wednesday he would conduct a fact-finding mission in Sri Lanka early next year. …
14 Muslims hurt in Lanka firing Hindustan Times, India – Sep 20, 2006 Fourteen Muslims were injured, five of them seriously, when the Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) opened fire on an angry crowd in Ullai near Pottuvil in …
Curfew in Sri lanka Muslim town, four hurt in police fire Hindu, India – Sep 20, 2006 Colombo, Sept 20. (PTI): Curfew was clamped today in an eastern Sri Lankan town after a mob, protesting the massacre of 10 Muslim …
Vox pop: “I want to do something for peace†TamilWeek, MD – 3 hours ago by Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai. People in Sri Lanka celebrated International Peace Day with demonstrations, prayers, and …
Troops deployed at Lankan Muslim town Peninsula On-line, Qatar – Sep 21, 2006 COLOMBO • Sri Lankan troops were deployed at a Muslim town in the island’s east to quell rioting following the massacre of 10 residents, military officials …
Tiger siege punishes trapped civilians The Brunei Times, Brunei Darussalam – Sep 21, 2006 HEAVILY armed troops man razorwire checkpoints, a curfew continues and food and fuel are in short supply but people in Sri Lanka’s northern Jaffna peninsula …
Sri lankan Army arming militia to take Tamil civilians out – Tamil …
India Daily, NJ – Sep 21, 2006 Sri Lankan Army after so many years finally restored to gestapo style ethinic cleansing tactics. Sri lankan Army is arming militia …
Three killed in Sri Lanka’s northeast, curfew imposed Haveeru Daily, Maldives – Sep 21, 2006 Three people were shot dead by unidentified gunmen in northeast Sri Lanka, police said Wednesday, and a curfew was put in place in a nearby town following an …
Tamil Tigers accuse govt of risking reporters’ lives Peninsula On-line, Qatar – Sep 20, 2006 Colombo • Tamil Tiger rebels yesterday accused Sri Lanka’s military of placing local and foreign media personnel in the line of fire by taking them to a …
Police shoot 14 Muslim civilians during protest in eastern Sri …
Lanka Everything, UK – Sep 20, 2006 Police opened fire on Muslim protesters in eastern Sri Lanka – on Wednesday, wounding 14 civilians, and a government soldier was killed in an overnight attack …
Four hurts as police opens fire in Muslim town in Sri Lanka Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran – Sep 20, 2006 Four civilians were injured in an eastern Sri Lankan Muslim town after a mob protesting the massacre of 10 Muslims two days ago, clashed with police personnel …
Curfew imposed in eastern Sri Lanka town after clashes ReliefWeb (press release), Switzerland – Sep 20, 2006 COLOMBO, Sept 20, 2006 (Xinhua via COMTEX) — A police curfew was imposed in an eastern Sri Lankan town on Wednesday after civilians clashed with the police …
Rockets and rubble: Sri Lanka troops press campaign PeaceJournalism.com, Nepal – Sep 20, 2006 By Simon Gardner. KANKASANTURAI, Sri Lanka (Reuters) – Firing artillery shells toward Tamil Tiger positions as fighting flares despite …
Britain extends travel warning in Lanka, rebel killed in gunbattle Hindu, India – 1 hour ago Colombo, Sept. 23(AP): The British Foreign Office upgraded a travel warning to cover a Muslim-dominated eastern area of Sri Lanka …
Under fire, under siege: Hard time Sri Lanka style Boston Globe, United States – 15 hours ago By Simon Gardner | September 22, 2006. KANKASANTURAI, Sri Lanka (Reuters) – Besieged by Tamil Tiger artillery fire and surrounded …
Tiger rebels kill ethnic minority Tamil civilian: military Hindu, India – 21 hours ago Colombo, Sept. 22 (AP): Suspected Tamil rebels fatally shot an ethnic minority Tamil civilian in northwestern Sri Lanka overnight …
Terrified residents fleeing battered Jaffna Peninsula Hindustan Times, India – 22 hours ago Artillery thundered into the night as hundreds of people waited in a darkened security zone for a ferry that would take them away from this island nation’s …
Civilians massacred in Sri Lanka’s east
People’s Daily Online – Beijing,China
… site and had been hacked to death aboard a tractor at Panama in the
Pottuvil area, about 320 km east from capital Colombo in the eastern Ampara
district. …
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