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| Sunday, 2 January 2005 |
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Huge death toll in North-East The Tamil dailies gave much prominence to the tsunami consequences in the North-east. Starting Monday all dailies led off with the tidal wave stories and loss of life, damage and destruction. From Tamil Press by S. Selvakumar The Virakesari said Kalkudah Army camp was totally submerged by the waves and it was feared that over 200 soldiers drowned. The Sudaroli said 110 employees and 40 foreign tourists at the Kuchchuveli beach hotel in Trincaomalee were swept away by the raging waves. The Thinakaran quoted Army Headquarters and said thousands of people living along the sea coast in the uncleared Vanni area fled to Jaffna peninsula through Muhamalai. The Thinakaran on Tuesday led with the story that 17 villages in the uncleared areas in Vadamarachchi and Mullaitivu were totally destroyed by the tidal waves and the government decided to provide urgent relief measures to these areas. Over 6000 were feared dead in these two areas. A train with over 1000 commuters from Colombo to Matara including foreign tourists was swept away by Tsunami waves at Ambalangoda and there were no trace of any survivors, the Virakesari reported. Amidst heavy rains relief work was carried out by military, police and volunteers in Jaffna, according to the Thinakkural. The Sudaroli on Wednesday led with banner headlines that refugees had been pushed from bad to worse since government relief was yet to reach them even three days after the disaster. Since sea water has seaped into wells, villagers in affected areas urgently needed drinking water the paper said in another front page story. The Thinakaran led with the story that President Kumaratunga after meeting with her ministers decided to provide immediate relief to those affected. Fifteen countries has come forward to provide relief and December 31 has been declared a day of national mourning. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse accompanied by minister Maithripala Sirisena and JVP MP Wimal Weerawansa toured Trincomalee and Batticaloa on Tuesday. TNA parliamentarians boycotted an all party conference summoned by the President despite her despatching a helicopter to bring them to Colombo. The Thinakaran said in a front page story. The Thinakkural in its lead story said over 25,000 people were believed dead in the tidal waves. In another story the paper said while 10,000 died in the Northeast another 10,000 had gone missing. The paper also said that some thugs with the help of few policemen had forced a lorry loaded with relief goods to be unloaded in Habarana and to be sent elsewhere. However members of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation that accompanied the goods brought this to the notice of TNA parliamentarian R. Sambanthan who contacted police high officials. The goods were then reloaded and the lorry proceeded to Trincomalee. The Virakesari carried a dramatic picture in the front page of a woman with hands spread and face downwards wailing near a corpse of one of her relations. It was one of the most dramatic pictures of all carried in the dailies but the source of it was not mentioned. The paper in another front page story said that 16 members of the same family from Colombo who hired a vehicle and travelled to Beruwela to attend an Islamic religious ceremony were swept away by the tidal waves and not a single body was recovered. The family consisted of a father, mother, their brothers, sisters and children. The Virakesari on Thursday carried a condolence message issued by LTTE leader Prabhakaran to all those Sinhala, Tamil and Muslims affected by the natural disaster in all parts of the country. In Batticaloa alone 20,000 tents are required to accommodate the displaced, the paper said in another story. The paper also carried a message by President Kumaratunga to shed all differences, ethnic, religious and politics and unite to rebuild the country. The Sudaroli carried a front page story where President Kumaratunga invited the LTTE, too, to participate in the high level committee appointed to provide relief to those affected. The letter was dispatched to the LTTE by the Secretary to the President, J. S. Karunaratne. Rs. 70 million has been allocated to the seven districts in the North-east to cover all areas including those uncleared, the Presidential Secretariat said. The Thinakkural said permission should be obtained from police headquarters to transport relief to affected areas. The Thinakkural in another front page story said that the LTTE leader Prabhakaran allocated Rs. 300 million from his funds for relief work in the Northeast. The Thinakaran in a front page story said two Tamil villages in the Ampara district called Thampattai and 40th mile post were left with only dogs and poultry and there were'nt a single human being left. In its lead story the paper said 2739 metric tonnes of food were dispatched to North-east including Vanni and in addition 18,000 towels, 7500 cooking utensils, 18,000 mats, 61,000 bottles of drinking water and 6200 T-shirts. The rehabilitation Ministry and World Food Programme jointly dispatched these items. The Sudaroli on Friday in a front page story said people of Jaffna expressed their disappointment to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse since he took some JVP parliamentarians along with him. The paper in a prominent story said the LTTE had agreed to the government relief efforts in the Vanni under the Tigers' supervision. The government announced that it would rebuild all houses damaged by the Tsunami waves in all parts of the country. Twenty members of the international community met with Thamilselvan in Kilinochchi on Thursday. The latter requested them to provide urgent relief. President George W. Bush consulted President Kumaratunga over the telephone on Thursday and had inquired of the loss and the country's requirements. The Thinakaran also led with the story of the LTTE's agreement to work with government officials in relief efforts in the Vanni. On an invitation by Thamilselvan Presidential aide Harim Peris travelled to Kilinochchi and met with the Tiger leaders, the Thinakaran said. The Virakesari said President Kumaratunga shook hands with LTTE female cadres in Trincomalee. |
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