“While the continuous attacks in the Batticaloa-Ampara districts with the facilitation and the co-operation of the Sri Lankan armed forces will largely endanger the restarting of the stalled peace initiatives, and the relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction activities for our people affected by the tsunami disaster, we fear that such attacks could result in far reaching consequences on the three-year long ceasefire agreement,” the LTTE peace Secretariat said. .

Such attacks are clearly intended to provoke the Tamil people and the LTTE, who maintain severe restraint despite having lost senior officials and cadres to such traitorous attacks during the period of ceasefire. Attacks on our unarmed officials engaged in political activities in the Army controlled areas is a clear violation of the Cease Fire Agreement, the LTTE pointed out.

Three female officials of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) including Batticaloa-Ampara District Women Political Wing Head, Kuveni, were seriously wounded when unidentified persons opened fire at them on Monday.

The LTTE also claimed that, “One of the attackers, who intercepted the trishaw carrying the LTTE officials and launched the attack on them, was seen fleeing into the nearby Sri Lanka Army camp after the attack.” Published: Wed Mar 2 23:08:51 EST 2005

Shops and other businesses were shut and public transport stopped running in the northern town of Jaffna for Wednesday's protest.

Demonstration organizers, the Jaffna District Civil Organizations Consortium, accused the government of ``violating the cease-fire agreement'' and not making efforts to end the fighting.

``The fact that the Liberation Tigers have been pushed to the edge of their patience ... is keeping the northeast people in constant fear,'' said a protest letter addressed to Secretary General Kofi Annan that was handed over to U.N. representatives.

Protesters also accused authorities of ``discrimination in providing relief to tsunami victims,'' a police official said by telephone from the Tamil-majority town.

The Dec. 26 tsunami killed more than 31,000 people in Sri Lanka - , and the rebels say 20,000 of them were from the north and east, areas under their control. One million others were left homeless.

The rebels and government, who bickered for weeks after the disaster on how to distribute aid to survivors, have agreed to establish a joint body soon to coordinate tsunami relief and reconstruction efforts.

The government insists it is being fair, but some members of the Tamil minority claim they are being left out of the process.

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Tigers' peace secretariat: www.ltteps.org Published: Wed Mar 2 08:26:34 EST 2005

The Sri Lankan Police on Wednesday arrested a senior civil servant on a charge of siphoning off relief aid meant for thousands of tsunami survivors in the island's devastated North East, a police official said.

A commissioner in the district office of Trincomalee was arrested in connection with the disappearance of 12 Indian-donated electricity generators destined for those who survived the December 26 tsunamis, the official said.

The man's identity was not disclosed, but police said he was a the highest ranking officer so far taken into custody over misappropriation of tsunami relief aid.

"We found that some of the foreign aid had disappeared," the official told via telephone in Trincomalee, 260 kilometres northeast of Colombo.

"We believe some officers were helping themselves to the supplies."

The arrest came as hundreds of minority Tamils staged a noisy protest in the adjoining district of Batticaloa accusing local officials of discrimination in the distribution of aid.

Residents said tsunami survivors marched to a local government office in Valachchenai in the Batticaloa district to protest corruption and mishandling of aid. Officials have agreed to look into their grievances.

Last week, Sri Lanka's social services minister Sumedha Jayasena said the country was struggling to cope with a flood of tsunami food aid and the authorities had begun distributing perishables even among those unaffected by the disaster.

The tsunamis killed 31,000 people in Sri Lanka and initially left a million people homeless. More... Published: Wed Mar 2 13:23:00 EST 2005