Kinniya displaced face food shortage

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 November 2003, 18:02 GMT]
Hundreds of Tamil families displaced from villages Alankerni, Eechantivu and Upparu in Kinniya division are still languishing in refugee centres without enough essential food items as they are unable to go to Kinniya town to buy their provisions. The co-operative outlet in Alankerni has been closed down due to threat by Muslim groups in the Kinniya area, non-governmental sources said.
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Inquiry into Vadamarachchy SLA assaults begins

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 November 2003, 16:52 GMT]
A team from the 52 Brigade Head quarters of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) located at Varani in Vadamarachchi division in Jaffna district Sunday afternoon went to the Point Pedro base hospital and questioned the two injured Tamil civilians warded there in critical condition following the media reports that a group of soldiers had attacked them Saturday afternoon, medical sources said.
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Curfew imposed in Trincomalee town

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 November 2003, 15:47 GMT]
A dusk to dawn police curfew has been imposed in the Trincomalee police division with effect from Sunday evening from 6 . The curfew will be lifted at 5 a.m. on Monday, police announced through loudhailers in town Sunday evening.
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Parents of Jaffna missing plan another protest

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 November 2003, 13:20 GMT]
“The Sri Lankan government has duped us for long by giving false promises and not investigating the fate of our missing children. We intend to stage a sit in protest in front of the National Human Rights Commission offices in Jaffna and Colombo on 10 December”, said the President of the Missing Persons Guardian Association of Jaffna, Mr. E. Selvarajah, addressing a press meet in the northern town Sunday.
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LTTE leader is our leader - ACTC

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 November 2003, 12:14 GMT]
“The leader of the Liberation Tigers is our leader. The policy of the LTTE is our policy. Our party upholds the ideals of the Tigers. There is criticism that the Liberation Tigers are not permitting some armed Tamils groups to function in the northeast. I say that these groups should not engage in politics as long as they continue to work as mercenaries for the Sri Lankan armed forces”, said Mr. Appathurai Vinayagamoorthy, the leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), addressing a party meeting in Batticaloa Sunday.
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Row erupts at TULF meeting

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 November 2003, 11:42 GMT]
The central working committee of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) Sunday evening voted on a no confidence motion on the President Mr.V.Anandasangaree. The meeting ended in uproar. Jaffna TULF organiser Mr. T. Kulasingham, Vavuniya TULF organiser and TNA parliamentarian Mr. N. Raviraj were assaulted.
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TULF committee discusses No-confidence motion on Sangaree

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 November 2003, 11:20 GMT]
The central working committee of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), a major constituent of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) began its crucial session Sunday morning around 10.30 a.m. at the office of the TULF at Colpetty in Colombo with the Mr.V.Ananadasangaree in the chair. Around thirty-six members of the committee attended the meeting, party sources said.
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Provincial Councils in south to fight for devolved powers

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 November 2003, 10:48 GMT]
Seven Chief Ministers of the Provincial Councils in the country Saturday decided to set up an organization to fight for devolved powers under the 13th Amendment to the constitution, from being taken away by the central government, sources said.
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"Minorities have right to administer their areas" - Vasudeva

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 November 2003, 00:03 GMT]
"Tamils and Muslims in the northeast have a right to set up their administration in their traditional areas under the devolution of power. No one can deny this right," said veteran trade unionist and the national organizer of the Democratic Left Front(DLF), Mr.Vasudeva Nanayakkara, at the second annual general meeting of the DLF held Saturday evening at the auditorium of the Colombo library, media sources said.
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Kinniya Tamil families seek refuge at welfare center

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 November 2003, 00:01 GMT]
More than one hundred Tamil families in the Kinniya division in the Trincomalee district have sought refuge in the Eechantivu welfare center when a group of Muslim youths blocked the Kinniya co-operative society from distributing relief as ordered by the Trincomalee district Government Agent, civil group sources said.
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"Prepare to face election instead of losing identity"- Peiris

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 November 2003, 23:21 GMT]
"The United National Front government is willing to meet a snap general election instead of losing its identity in the proposed national reconciliation government," said Sri Lanka's Constitutional Affairs Minister, Professor G.L.Peiris, addressing a UNF party meeting held Saturday evening at Borella in Colombo, media sources said.
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'Sangaree issue' to be decided Sunday

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 November 2003, 21:05 GMT]
Thirty-six member central working committee of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), a major constituent of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) will be meeting Sunday at 10 a.m. at the Colombo headquarters of the TULF to discuss the prevailing political situation and to decide on its leadership issue, party sources said.
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“Not all Sinhalese are racists "- Wickremasinghe

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 November 2003, 17:05 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister, Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, said Saturday evening that all the Sinhalese living in the south are not racists and only a handful of them are opposing the current peace efforts. His comments came when he was addressing a meeting in Mawanella as part of a campaign to create awareness among the masses in the south about the urgent need to recommence the stalled peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, media sources said.
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SL Police beefs up security in Trincomalee district

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 November 2003, 16:40 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President, Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge, Saturday instructed the acting Inspector General of Police, Mr.Indra de Silva, to beef up security measures in the Trincomalee district and launch immediate investigation into the killings of three Muslims and other incidents that had taken place recently in the district, police said.
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LTTE delegation departs to South Africa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 November 2003, 16:35 GMT]
A delegation consisting of seven members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), led by Head of the LTTE Peace Secretariat, Mr. Pulithevan, began a study tour to South Africa on Wednesday to look at aspects of federalism, constitutional frameworks and administrative structures employed in that country, local media reported.
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SLA soldiers assault Tamil civilians in Vadamarachchi

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 November 2003, 16:33 GMT]
A group of soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army, located in the historic Vallipuram Alvar Temple area in Vadamarachchi division in Jaffna district, is alleged to have mercilessly assaulted and fired at a group of Tamil civilians who had gone for hare hunting Saturday evening, injuring several of them. Later the SLA soldiers arrested seven of the Tamil group and released them after questioning, civil sources said.
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Kinniya division under dusk to dawn curfew

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 November 2003, 13:10 GMT]
A dusk to dawn curfew has been imposed in Kinniya police division in the Trincomalee district Saturday evening to defuse escalating tension caused by the killing of three Muslim farmers in Nadu Ootru Muslim village by unknown persons, Trincomalee police said.
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UNP rejects President's proposals

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 November 2003, 10:48 GMT]
"We had ... a different formula to which both the president and the prime minister had agreed - this is something totally new" the BBC quoted Mr. Malik Samarawickreme, chairman of the Premier's United National Party (UNP), as saying.
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Three Muslims killed in Kinniya

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 November 2003, 09:54 GMT]
Unknown persons killed three Muslim farmers in Nadu Ootru in Kinniya division in Trincomalee district. Fellow farmers found their bodies Saturday morning in paddy fields with injuries said to have been caused by pointed weapons and reported the incident to the security forces. Nadu Ootru village is in the government controlled area, police said.
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SL President presents proposals for cohabitation

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 November 2003, 17:38 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President, Ms Chandrika Kumaratunga, Friday submitted a set of proposals to the committee that has been attempting to formulate a programme for cohabitation government comprising the two main Sinhala political parties Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United National Party (UNP), sources said.
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Great Heroes Day celebrations conclude in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 November 2003, 15:56 GMT]
Liberation Tigers' Trincomalee regional military commander Colonel Pathuman lit the flame of sacrifice at the main event of the Great Heroes Day celebrations at the Alankulam Heroes' cemetary in the Muttur east in the Trincomalee district amid heavy shower and large gathering of people soon after the address to the Tamil people by LTTE leader Mr.V.Pirapaharan Thursday evening.
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Political engagement with LTTE vital to avoid estrangement - Uyangoda

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 November 2003, 12:22 GMT]
"The negotiation process needs to be revived soon. The exploration of the conditions under which the next phase of talks might take place should not be delayed under the pretext of either the political negotiations between the UNF and SLFP or the budget debate. Otherwise...a new process of estrangement between the Sinhalese and Tamil polities might emerge under the conditions of uncertainty created by the present process of no war-no peace," said Prof. Jeyadeva Uyangoda in an article which appeared in Friday edition of Daily mirror.
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Jaffna Great Heroes day celebrations draw large crowd

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 November 2003, 11:03 GMT]
Despite heavy down pour and interference by Sri Lanka Government security forces in the Jaffna district people in large numbers attended the events at the Heroes' cemetaries (Maveerar Thuyilum Illam) Thursday evening on the Great Heroes Day and paid their homage to the martyrs of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam who sacrificed their lives in the armed Tamil freedom struggle, sources in Jaffna said.
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Thousands attend Heroes’ Day events in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 27 November 2003, 22:01 GMT]
Thousands of people participated at the Great Heroes Day celebrations held at the Tharavai ‘Maveerar Thuyilum Illam’ (The martyr's cemetery where Great Heroes rest) in the Batticaloa district, despite heavy rains Thursday evening, and the Senior Commander of the LTTE for the eastern flank, Col. V. Karuna, attended the celebrations, sources said.
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Pirapaharan's Heroes' day address

[TamilNet, Thursday, 27 November 2003, 12:22 GMT]
Mr Vellupillai Pirapaharan, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in his annual statement commemorating the Heroes’ Day rejected accusations made by President Chandrika Kumaratunga that his organisation was strengthening its military power and preparing for war, and pointed to the power struggle between Sri Lanka's President and Prime Minister as historical repetitive pattern of "political drama [which] has been continuing for the last fifty years aggravating the plight of the Tamil people.”
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HDU to start demining in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 27 November 2003, 00:01 GMT]
The Humanitarian Demining Unit (HDU) has announced that it will start demining in the Batticaloa district on November 29, and the HDU has already begun initial preparations and surveys to concentrate on demining the Palaiyadivaddai village for mines and booby traps in the first stage, sources said.
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'Renewed war will devastate Sri Lanka' - Col.Karuna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 November 2003, 17:40 GMT]
"The current power struggle between Sri Lanka's President and Prime Minister has adversely impacted the Peace Process. However, we will strictly adhere to the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) and will patiently wait to see if political stability returns to the South," Col. Karuna, Senior Commander of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), told TamilNet's Batticaloa correspondent at the Tharavai Heroes' cemetery Tuesday.
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Ten SLA soldiers buried alive in muddy soil in Thenmaradchi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 November 2003, 17:37 GMT]
Ten soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army were buried alive in the muddy land between Eluthumadduval and Nagarkovil coastal area in Thenmaradchi division in Jaffna district while undergoing training on Wednesday at about 6 p.m., police said.
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Positive response from Pirapaharan - Patten

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 November 2003, 17:34 GMT]
The European Union(EU)'s External Relations Commissioner, Mr. Chris Patten, said Wednesday that the international community has welcomed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for eschewing violence and entering political negotiations to find a solution to the conflict. Mr. Patten said that he had told the LTTE leader that a political solution to the conflict should be found under a federal political system as declared in the Oslo conference.
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Foundation stone laid for Thileepan Health Centre in Pooneryn

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 November 2003, 15:36 GMT]
The foundation stone for the Thileepan Health Centre (Community Hospital & Maternity Home), was laid down by Dr. Kuna Iynkaran Wednesday at 10.30 a.m. The centre is already runnng in a temporary accommodation, sources said.
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NECORD to provide more funds for NE development

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 November 2003, 15:25 GMT]
The Project Director of the North East Community Organization for Restoration Development (NECORD), Mr.T.Lankaneson, addressing a gathering at the opening of a new two-storey building at the Jeyanthipura Sinhala Vidiyalaym in the Kanthalai education zone in the Trincomalee district, Monday evening, said that NECORD would spend more money next year for the development of education in rural and difficult areas in the northeastern province.
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‘Would have shot down Patten’s copter’ – Sihala Urumaya

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 November 2003, 09:56 GMT]
"If we had an anti aircraft missile we wouldn’t have hesitated to shoot down the helicopter in which Mr. Chris Patten would be travelling to Kilinochchi to meet the LTTE leader," said Mr. Tilak Karunaratne, the leader of the ultra Sinhala nationalist Sihala Urumaya party, in comments published Wednesday in the Sinhala extremist daily Divaina. President Kumaratunga’s uncle publishes the paper, which enjoys wide readership among the Singhalese.
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Pirapaharan discusses Colombo crisis, CFA with Patten

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 November 2003, 07:09 GMT]
"Our leader Mr. Velupillai Pirapaharan told Mr. Patten it is not at all in the hands of the Liberation Tigers to ensure that there is no return to violence and that it is completely up to the Sinhala polity to see there is no return to war. Mr. Pirapaharan very clearly explained to Mr. Patten that we remain committed to resolving the conflict peacefully," said Mr. S. P Thamilchelvan, speaking to media following the meeting between the leader of the Liberation Tigers and the European Union’s Commissioner for External Relations Wednesday in Kilinochchi.
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Tamil diaspora celebrates Heroes' day

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 November 2003, 03:51 GMT]
Tamil expatriate community in countries of Europe and North America are celebrating heroes' day, with several prominent members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) addressing the Heroes' day events in these countries, a popular Tamil Television Newscast in London said Tuesday.
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Great Heroes' Day celebrations begin in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 November 2003, 00:01 GMT]
The Great Heroes Day celebrations began in Trincomalee town Tuesday morning with paying homage to LTTE martyrs of Trincomalee whose photographs have been kept in the gaily decorated Trincomalee Hindu Cultural Hall, which is located along the Inner Harbour Road facing the harbour. TEEDOR Trincomalee district head Mr.S.Tharman declared open the event by cutting the ribbon.
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"Political instability blocks furtherance of peace talks"-Peiris

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 November 2003, 21:19 GMT]
The political instability in the south of the country has been considered by the local and international community as the main obstacle to take the peace process forward, the United National Front government senior minister and media spokesman, Professor G.L.Peiris, said Tuesday.
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EU Commissioner meets Sri Lanka's President

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 November 2003, 15:50 GMT]
European Commission External Relations Commissioner, Mr. Chris Patten, Tuesday afternoon met with Sri Lanka's President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, at the Presidential House and discussed the current political crisis that has stalled the peace talks between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), political sources said.
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Heroes day celebrations begin in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 November 2003, 12:51 GMT]
Batticaloa-Amparai district began its main celebrations for the Heroes day at the Tharavai Heroes cemetary on Tuesday morning. Col. Karuna, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Senior Commander for the East, participated as the chief guest hoisting the Tamileelam flag, sources said.
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SLA, LTTE meet again over Jaffna Heroes’ Day

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 November 2003, 09:43 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lanka army met again Tuesday to resolve persisting friction over the Great Heroes’ Day observations in Jaffna. Speaking to the press after the meeting, Maj. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, the Sri Lankan security forces commander for Jaffna, said his troops won’t interfere in the Great Heroes’ Day arrangements in the peninsula. Responding to a question from TamilNet, he said the SLA won’t allow the Tiger flag to be flown in Sri Lankan government buildings and public places.
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Sinhala nationalists burn EU commissioner’s effigy

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 November 2003, 06:19 GMT]
Sinhala nationalist protestors burnt an effigy of European’s Union Commissioner for External Affairs, Mr. Chris Patten in the busy business hub of downtown Colombo Tuesday moring. Mr. Patten arrived in Sri Lanka’s capital Tuesday for meetings with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, President Kumaratunga and the leader of the Liberation Tigers, Mr. Veluppillai Pirapaharan.
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NECORD provides new life to Varothaya Nagar School

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 November 2003, 01:43 GMT]
The Varothaya Nagar Barathi Vidiyalayam in the suburb of Trincomalee town, which has a history of being occupied by both the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) and thereafter by the Sri Lanka Army and Sri Lanka Police, till the signing of the ceasefire agreement by the Government of Sri Lanka and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, has now got a new two storied building at a cost of nearly 4 .6 million rupees under the North East Community Restoration and Development Project (NECORD). The building was declared open Monday.
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“Defense and ceasefire must flow from single authority”-TNA

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 November 2003, 18:00 GMT]
“It is the considered view of the Tamil people and of the fifteen Members of Parliament of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) that the responsibility on the part of the government to sustain the ceasefire, and to continue with the peace process, must flow from one single authority," said the TNA parliamentary group leader, Mr.R.Sampanthan, speaking in the budget debate in parliament Monday.
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Angry crowd, SLA face-off defused in Mannar

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 November 2003, 17:13 GMT]
A showdown between Sri Lanka army and a large crowd of angry people was averted in Mannar Monday night after the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission persuaded troops garrisoned at the local co-operative society building to return a Heroes’ Day memorial depiction the soldiers had removed from the town centre. The angry crowd, demanding that the SLA return the memorial depiction, stopped buses from Mannar town to Colombo and other long distance destinations Monday night.
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Eluvaithivu survives in the grip of Sri Lanka’s Navy

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 November 2003, 13:24 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Navy has a tight grip on Eluvaithivu and its residents. It is a small island in the sea off the Jaffna peninsula. The SLN recently stepped up checking at the island’s small jetty. Locals say the Navy fears they might smuggle into the island posters to mark the LTTE’s Great Heroes’ Day. Thirteen years ago, on 4 November, twenty-three men from Eluvaithivu were massacred by the Sri Lanka Navy at mid sea.
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Canadian paramedics donate medical equipment to North

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 November 2003, 05:18 GMT]
The Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Unit in Toronto, Canada, has donated medical equipment and medicine used in emergency surgery, worth 30 million Rupees, to the government hospitals in Vavuniya, Mannar and Kilinochchi, sources said.
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LTTE honors parents of martyrs in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 November 2003, 04:30 GMT]
The practice of honoring fighters who sacrifice their lives for their homeland even during periods of war, and honoring the parents of the fighters on-going now in the NorthEast, is not seen in other parts of the world and is unique to the Tamil homeland, said Mr. S. Ezhilan, the political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Vavuniya, speaking at an event held at Sastrikoolankulam in the Vavuniya district to honor parents of LTTE martyrs Saturday, sources in Vavuniya said.
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Two Muslims killed in Kinniya

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 November 2003, 02:44 GMT]
Two Muslim civilians were killed by unknown assailants in two separate incidents in the Kinniya division in Trincomalee district, security sources said. The first incident took place at Faizal Nagar on Sunday night at about 9 p.m. and the other at Kachchaikoditivu on Monday early morning around 2 a.m, sources added.
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Trincomalee district goes festive celebrating Heroes' Day

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 November 2003, 01:58 GMT]
More than three hundred three wheelers participated in a parade held in Trincomalee town Sunday as scheduled. The organizers said the event was arranged to create awareness among Trincomalee residents of the importance of the Great Heroes' Day to the liberation struggle of Tamils.
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Governing with PM horrendous says Sri Lanka’s President

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 November 2003, 18:16 GMT]
President Chandrika Kumaratunga said Sri Lanka’s current crisis cannot be solved even if all parties are brought together because "the malaise runs deep in the country’s body politic," in a speech to businesspersons and academics telecast on state run TV Sunday night. Referring to cohabitation government with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, she said: "Governing like this is horrendous. The last two years had been the worst possible years of my life."
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JUSU condemns SLA's behaviour in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 November 2003, 17:41 GMT]
The Jaffna University Students Union (JUSU), in a statement released Sunday evening, warned that grave repercussion would follow if the Sinhala dominated Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Police continued their hostile activities against Tamil students and civilians in the Jaffna district with the assistance of their quislings.
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Students' Association condemns SLA intimidation in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 November 2003, 17:09 GMT]
The International Students' Association of Tamil Eelam (ISATE) Sunday condemned SLA's continued intimidation of students and said the chauvinist policy of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Sri Lanka Police has been the root cause for the growth of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and its demand for police, judicial powers for the proposed interim self governing authority for the northeast province.
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Tensions over Heroes’ Day continue in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 November 2003, 12:08 GMT]
Tension between civilians and Sri Lanka army troops over arches and decoration for the Great Heroes’ Day continued in Jaffna Sunday. SLA pulled down a hardboard arch that local residents constructed at the Windsor Theatre Junction in Jaffna town Sunday morning. A large crowd of people gathered there in the afternoon and put up the arch again amidst objections and protests by the military. More troops were deployed in the area following altercations between the SLA and townspeople at Windsor Junction.
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Army-students clash averted in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 November 2003, 06:26 GMT]
Soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army Saturday night deliberately destroyed a decorated structure constructed by the students and civilians at the Parameswara junction along the Jaffna Palaly trunk road in connection with Great Heroes Day celebration by crashing their heavy vehicle against the structure. A group of army soldiers at the scene had reported to have loaded their guns when a group of students at the site objected to the army's action, police said. High tension prevailed at the site when a gunshot was heard.
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Rebel MP given TNA time during budget debate

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 November 2003, 04:15 GMT]
Tamil parliamentarian from the hills, Mr.V.Puthirasikamany, who quit the People's Alliance (PA) protesting against the Deepavali day march organized by the PA, spoke in Sri Lanka's parliament using the time allocated to the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) during the debate on budget, local media reported.
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Heroes day memorial exhibition opened in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 November 2003, 18:30 GMT]
A memorial exhibition displaying framed pictures of more than 3500 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) martyrs in a well lit memorial hall of Batticaloa Mahajana College was opened for public Saturday, sources in Batticaloa said.
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UNF begins public awareness programme on constitutional crisis

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 November 2003, 18:11 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe Saturday said the current ceasefire agreement with the LTTE should be strengthened to avoid another war. "Negotiated political settlement could be found for the national conflict without war," said Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe addressing the first rally at Padavi-Siripura in Trincomalee district Saturday evening inaugurating an awareness programme island wide, to explain to the public, matters related to constitutional crisis between the Executive and the Legislature.
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SL President vows to unite major political parties

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 November 2003, 18:06 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge Saturday said she would try her best to unite the two major political parties, Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United National Party (UNP) despite challenges. "I have set aside my personal objective and undertaken the task of uniting the two major political parties for national well-being," said Ms.Kumaratunge addressing a meeting at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) Saturday.
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Balasingham's new book explores theories in Human Liberation

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 November 2003, 16:31 GMT]
In a recently released book in Tamil, Viduthalai ("Liberation"), Mr. Anton Balasingham, theoretician for Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), explores in depth, theories from ancient philosophers to seek meanings for Human Life, History and Liberation.
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Jaffna celebrates Heroes Day amid SLA harassment

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 November 2003, 14:25 GMT]
Soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army Saturday continued their interference with Tamil civilians who have been erecting arches, festoons and other decorations in Jaffna district in connection with the Great Heroes Day celebrations, civil sources said.
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Paper slams EU peace visit as "pig headed act"

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 November 2003, 08:27 GMT]
Commissioner of External Affairs of the European Union, Mr. Chris Patten’s visit to Sri Lanka next week is expected to draw strong protests from Sinhala nationalists, political observers in Colombo said. ‘The Island’, an English daily published by President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s uncle, slammed Mr. Patten’s plan to meet the Liberation Tigers in Kilinochchi next Tuesday as a “pig headed act” in a prominent front-page editorial Saturday. “This is bloody European gumption and insolence of the highest order”, the paper said.
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German government reconstructs destroyed Trinco building

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 November 2003, 00:32 GMT]
The new building of the Sampalthivu Agrarian Services Centre (ASC), located in the village of Aththimoddai, about 7 k.m. north of Trincomalee town, and reconstructed at a cost of 2.9 million rupees with the financial assistance of Integrated Food Security Programme (IFSP) of the German Agency for Technical Co-operation (GTZ), was handed over to the Agrarian Development Committee of Sampalthivu Friday morning.
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NE Provincial Council holds 'IFTAR'

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 November 2003, 00:01 GMT]
“The healthy relationship between Tamils and Muslims has deteriorated for various reasons in recent times. This should not be allowed to continue. All of us should make a concerted effort to bring back the golden era where two communities lived as brothers and sisters for centuries. Iftar is held to strengthen the unity between two communities,” said Mr. Majeed, North East Provincial Assistant Director of Culture (Muslim section), while speaking at the ‘Iftar’ function held in Trincomalee Thursday.
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SLA hands back Amban hospital, library

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 November 2003, 18:33 GMT]
The Sri Lanka army Friday handed back to civil authorities a hospital and public library it had been occupying for more than three years in Amban, a village on Jaffna’s southeastern coast.
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SLA permits Danish to de-mine again

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 November 2003, 18:32 GMT]
The Sri Lanka army permitted the Danish De-mining Group (DDG) to resume work in Katkovalam, a coastal village near Pt. Pedro town in Jaffna from Friday, residents said. Earlier this month the SLA stopped the Danish from removing land mines in abandoned SLA positions and their environs in Katkovalam when the group began earmarking places to be de-mined in the village.
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SLMM defuses tension in Jaffna over SLA's interference

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 November 2003, 18:19 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army Friday afternoon stopped officials of the Jaffna district consumers' co-operative societies federation from hoisting the LTTE flag at the event held in the federation’s premises as a part of the Great Heroes' (Maveerar) Day celebrations. However, Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission officials in Jaffna rushed to the site and defused the tension in the area following the SLA's action, civil sources said.
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UNF minister questions SL President's silence over LTTE camp

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 November 2003, 16:58 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Tourism Minister, Mr. Gamini Lokuge, Friday queried the President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, as to what had happened to her warning to then Defense Minister to remove the Kurankupanchchan LTTE camp within ten days, as she had said it had been established after the signing of the ceasefire agreement between the UNF government and the LTTE on February 22 last year.
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Speaker notified of an attempt to assault Maheswaran

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 November 2003, 16:35 GMT]
Opposition parliamentarians brought to the notice of the Speaker Mr.Joseph Michael Perera Friday afternoon that an alleged assault attempt had been made by some ruling party members on Hindu Religious Affairs Minister, Mr.S.Maheswaran, inside the House after he spoke against his government for neglecting several thousand internally displaced Tamils in the northeast province, parliamentary sources said.
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European Parliament deplores SL President’s actions

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 November 2003, 16:07 GMT]
The European Parliament (EP), in a resolution co-sponsored by all political groups in the body and unanimously approved on Thursday, said that the decision made by Sri Lanka’s President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, at the beginning of November to sack three ministers and prorogue parliament while the Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremansinghe, was outside the country, represented “a threat to the peace process” and showed “the need, more than ever, for a real bipartisan commitment and approach to securing a political settlement in Sri Lanka between the major parties.”
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Minister lashes out at UNF govt. over IDP’s plight

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 November 2003, 14:40 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Hindu Religious Affairs Minister, Mr. T.Maheswaran, Friday lashed out against his own (United National Front) government that it has not taken any concrete steps to alleviate the suffering of several thousand internally displaced people (IDP) in the Jaffna district for the last two years." IDP are still languishing in the refugee camps and welfare centres with out any future since the signing of the ceasefire agreement," said Mr. Maheswaran participating in the budget debate when it resumed Friday morning, parliamentary sources said.
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SLA pulls down Heroes’ Day arches, festoons in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 November 2003, 12:41 GMT]
The Sri Lanka army in Jaffna deployed additional troops along the Kandy Road (A9) from Kodikamam to the entrance of the northern town Friday and pulled down decorative arches and festoons put up for the LTTE’s Great Heroes’ Day in many parts of the peninsula. The SLA also deployed many small unit foot patrols armed with machine guns in Jaffna Friday.
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Cohabitation talks to end by December 15 - PA

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 November 2003, 11:27 GMT]
The main opposition Peoples Alliance said Friday that the President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge and Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremanayake have agreed to conclude the current high level talks now being held between their advisors to end the political uncertainty by 15th of December, media sources said.
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President appoints new regional commander for Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 November 2003, 09:26 GMT]
Major General Paramee Kulatunga has been appointed as the new Jaffna regional commander of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) replacing the incumbent Major General Sarath Fonseka. Major General Sarath Fonseka has been put in charge of the SLA Volunteer Corp, in a shake up in the Sri Lanka military establishment made by the President, military sources said Friday.
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LSSP says case over PA's National list pre-empted

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 November 2003, 18:21 GMT]
Mr. Batty Weerakoon, the leader of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), has charged that when his party was about to finish its submissions before the three-member bench of the Supreme Court hearing the case against the People’s Alliance General Secretary, Mr.D.M. Dayaratne, and the Elections Commissioner, over the nomination of PA's National List parliamentarians, Mr. Dayaratne’s counsel appealed to the Chief Justice that the case should be heard before a five-member bench, thereby pre-empting the case from proceeding, press reports in Sri Lanka said this week.
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EU external relations commissioner to meet LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 November 2003, 17:01 GMT]
The Commissioner of External Relations of the European Commission, Mr. Chris Patten, will visit Sri Lanka next week and meet the Liberation Tigers, President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, according to a press release issued by the Delegation of the European Commission to Sri Lanka Thursday.
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SL Security Forces told to strictly observe CFA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 November 2003, 12:12 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), General Balagalle, SL Navy Chief, Vice Admiral Daya Sandagiri and Chief of SL AirForce Air Vice Marshall Donald Weerakody met Thursday with Commanders of Sri Lanka Army (SLA), Navy (SLN) and Air Force (SLAF) serving in Batticaloa district and directed them to strictly adhere to and observe the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), security sources said.
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SL Speaker to face no-confidence motion

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 November 2003, 11:34 GMT]
The leaderships of Sri Lanka's main opposition Peoples Alliance (PA) and the Sinhala nationalist, Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Thursday decided to collect signatures of parliamentarians to move a no-confidence motion against the Sri Lanka Speaker Mr.Joseph Michael Perera stating he had no power to challenge the proclamation of the President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge proroguing parliament, political sources said.
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LTTE, SLA discuss Heroes’ Day in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 November 2003, 08:30 GMT]
“Sri Lanka army officers told us their troops won’t object to anything with the Tiger insignia being used in decorations put up by the people for the Great Heroes’ Day in Jaffna”, said Mr. S. Thangan, the deputy leader of the political division of the Liberation Tigers after a meeting with Maj. Gen. Ratnasabapathy, deputy Sri Lankan security forces commander for Jaffna and senior Sri Lankan Police officials in the northern town Thursday.
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Japan renovates war-destroyed community building in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 November 2003, 20:37 GMT]
The First Secretary of the Japanese Embassy in Sri Lanka, Mr. Hideyuki Onishi, Wednesday afternoon declared open the renovated building of the Madduvil Srivetpillai Community Center in Chavakachcheri in the Jaffna district at a cost of one million rupees funded by the people and the Government of Japan as a token of friendship and cooperation between Japan and Sri Lanka. The implementing agency was the Association of Medical Doctors of Asia (AMDA), sources said.
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SLA threatens Jaffna journalist

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 November 2003, 19:02 GMT]
The military intelligence unit of the Sri Lanka army at the Muhamalai entry point in Jaffna Wednesday stopped the journalist, Mr. Velupillai Thavachelvam, for more than an hour, threatening and accusing him of casting aspersions on the SLA in the northern peninsula deliberately. According to Mr. Thavachelvam, the soldiers who threatened him had said: “People like you had a free run under (Prime Minister) Ranil’s government. But now the President is in charge. So we can do anything to you”.
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UNF government presents third budget

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 November 2003, 15:22 GMT]
"It is the government’s wish, and of all right thinking people of Sri Lanka, that no further political crises be created which will derail the existing process and that all political issues, if any, be sorted out by objective consultation and decision," said the United National Front government’s Finance Minister, Mr.K.N.Choksy, in his 2004 Budget speech delivered in parliament Wednesday evening, parliamentary sources said.
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Work on new Sellasannithi chariot begins

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 November 2003, 11:02 GMT]
The first piece of wood for building the new chariot (Ther) for the historic Thondamanaru Sellasannithi Murugan Temple in Jaffna was carved and consecrated Wednesday morning according to Tamil religious rites at the Bambalapitya Manikkapillaiyar Kovil in Colombo. The temple’s intricately carved wooden chariot was destroyed when Sri Lanka army soldiers allegedly set fire to it during a military operation in the area on 21April 1986. The temple building was also destroyed by the SLA in 1987 during ‘Operation Liberation’ to take the Vadamaradchi Division of Jaffna.
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Prorogation of Parliament undemocratic - Speaker

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 November 2003, 05:57 GMT]
In a landmark ruling, the speaker of the Sri Lanka's Parliament, Mr. Joseph Micheal Perera Wednesday stated that the prorogation of Parliament by President Chandrika Kumaratunga was "undemocratic". "The Parliament has the authority to assemble and activate its legislative powers" he said. Sri Lanka's national legislature reopened Wednesday morning 10 a.m.
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Hospital destroyed by SLA, IPKF reconstructed

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 November 2003, 04:59 GMT]
The central dispensary and hospital located in the village of Mahilavettuvan, 30 km West of Batticaloa town in territory controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the Batticaloa district, which was damaged by the military actions of the Sri Lanka Army in 1987 and destroyed later the same year by the Indian Peace Keeping Force, recommenced operation Tuesday, sources said.
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Landmines continue to impede resettlement in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 November 2003, 18:44 GMT]
Many parts of Jaffna still remain unsuitable for resettlement and human habitation due to landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO), according to statistics gathered by Sri Lankan government officials in the northern peninsula. The officials told TamilNet Tuesday that of the 1179953 square metres in Jaffna considered infested with landmines and UXOs, only 260168 sq. metres have been cleared so far since 1997.
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Appeal Court reserves order in case against SL President

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 November 2003, 17:09 GMT]
The Court of Appeal Tuesday reserved its order for December 17th on an application made by the Sri Lanka Legal Aid Foundation seeking the court to order Sri Lanka’s President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, to appear in person in a case in which she has been cited as respondent for failing to appoint members to the National Independent Election Commission as recommended by the Constitutional Council, legal sources said.
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SL President will not attend opening session of parliament

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 November 2003, 14:07 GMT]
Sri Lanka's parliament is scheduled to meet Wednesday morning at 10.30 a.m. after two weeks' prorogation by the President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge. However, the President will not attend parliament and speaker Mr.Joseph Michael Perera will deliver the opening address instead, parliamentary sources said, adding that he will read her inaugural address.
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Sangaree declines invitation to meet SL President

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 November 2003, 11:27 GMT]
V. Anandasangaree, a Tamil Member of Parliament (MP) and President of Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), declined an invitation to meet with Sri Lanka's President Ms.Kumaratunge saying that such a meeting will create misunderstanding among Tamil people, a popular Jaffna Tamil daily Uthayan reported.
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Balasingham to resume duties

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 November 2003, 11:05 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers’ theoretician, Mr. Anton Balasingham, whose deteriorating health compelled him to take several months of rest this year, is now well enough to resume his duties, LTTE sources confirmed to TamilNet Tuesday.
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Germany extends support to NE redevelopment

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 November 2003, 10:34 GMT]
"The German government has decided to extend its support to the North East Community Restoration and Development Project (NECORD) with additional funds of EURO 2.4 million (Rs. 260 million) spread over the next three years", said a press release issued by the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) today.
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Sri Lanka PM, President agree on stopgap committee

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 November 2003, 08:34 GMT]
“There was no breakthrough in today’s talks between the President and the Prime Minister”, a senior Sri Lankan government official in Colombo said Tuesday. He said that it was agreed during the meeting to appoint a committee of officials to “work out the details of future working arrangements under which the President and Prime Minister could work together on the important national issues”.
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SLA said dumping human waste in residential area

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 November 2003, 05:11 GMT]
During the last few days, the Sri Lanka Army has been dropping human waste from the lavatories of its camps in the Batticaloa district in a residential area near Santhiveli, 26 km north of Batticaloa town on the Batticaloa-Valaichenai road, and this has created a serious health hazard, the residents of the area have complained to health officials.
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Amparai floods raise fears of displacement

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 November 2003, 04:35 GMT]
Floods caused by torrential rain in the Amparai district on Sunday and Monday have disrupted traffic on the Navithanveli-Kittanki road as the road is submerged in 4 ft of water. Officials fear that if the rain continues, there will be displacement of people in low-lying areas, sources in Amparai said.
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Two villagers in remand for entering HSZ in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 17 November 2003, 17:35 GMT]
The Chavakachcheri Magistrate, Mr.P.Subramaniam, Monday ordered the court registrar to inform the parents of Mr. Mahalingam Ratnarajan of Tharmapuram in the Kilinochchi district, that he has been in remand for the last two months in Jaffna prison, legal sources said.
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‘Let SL President resign and call fresh Presidential elections’ –TNA MP

[TamilNet, Monday, 17 November 2003, 16:37 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, should resign and call fresh Presidential elections as a way out of the current constitutional crisis without derailing the peace process and bringing more hardships on the people, said Mr. Ariyanayagam Chandraneru, the Tamil National Alliance’s Member of Parliament from the Amparai district, speaking to a gathering of fishermen at Alaiyadivembu in his district Monday, sources said.
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SLA refuses permission to TNA MP to visit civil office

[TamilNet, Monday, 17 November 2003, 15:18 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army Monday refused permission to the Jaffna district Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian Mr. Mavai Senathirajah to pay an official visit to the office of the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) for Jaffna district which is housed in a portion of the Thellipalai Cancer Hospital which is located in the high security zone. The Thellipalai Cancer Hospital has been allowed to function since the signing of the ceasefire agreement by the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, civil authorities said.
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SLA prevents Maveerar Day preparations in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 17 November 2003, 14:42 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army Tuesday prevented Tamil civilians renovating the welcome arch made of concrete across the junction where the Kachchai and Kandy roads meet in the heart of Chavakachcheri town in Jaffna district. The Chavakachcheri Urban Council (UC) constructed this welcome arch and it was destroyed in the military operation launched by the SLA in the year 2000, UC sources said.
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French style compromise considered - Peiris

[TamilNet, Monday, 17 November 2003, 14:35 GMT]
The United National Front government’s media spokesman and Constitutional Affairs Minister, Mr. G.L.Peiris, Monday said a conducive situation has been emerging for making decisions regarding the defense of the country. "The UNF has taken into consideration the French style constitutional arrangements in regard to defense of the country," said Mr.Peiris, addressing a press briefing Monday, media sources said.
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"Executive Presidency must be removed" - Ravaya

[TamilNet, Monday, 17 November 2003, 11:58 GMT]
Influential Sinhala political weekly, Ravaya, in an editorial argued for the abolition of executive presidency or at the minimum clipping the powers of the Presidency. It said that neither the President Ms. Kumaratunge nor the Prime Minister Wickremesinghe are inclined to do so because of their self-interest.
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Committee completes Jaffna SLA accident report

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 November 2003, 18:59 GMT]
The high level committee appointed by the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army and the Chief of Defense Staff Lt.General Lionel Balagalle to inquire into the recent spate of accidents involving army and civilian vehicles in the Jaffna district is to submit its report Monday, security sources said.
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SLFP- JVP electoral alliance to be decided Monday

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 November 2003, 18:26 GMT]
An emergency meeting of the central working committee of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), chief constituent of the main opposition Peoples Alliance (PA) will be held Monday at the President House to decide on forging a political and electoral alliance with Sinhala nationalist cum Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and to decide the future course of action to solve the current political crisis, political observers said Sunday.
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Sri Lanka's President and PM to meet again

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 November 2003, 18:22 GMT]
The second round of talks between the President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge and Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe are expected to be held Tuesday at the Presidential office for the first time after Norway’s pulling out of the peace process it has brokered twenty two months ago with a ceasefire agreement between the United National Front government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, political sources said.
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TNA denies report on President’s invitation

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 November 2003, 18:16 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Sunday denied reports in a section of the media that the President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge has invited the TNA for urgent talks. The leader of the Tamil National Alliance parliamentary group Mr.R.Sampanthan told Tamilnet that the TNA has not received any invitation from the Presidential Secretariat for such talks.
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UNHCR's mobile service helps India returnees

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 November 2003, 16:12 GMT]
K.Ganesh, Government Agent (GA) Vavuniya inaugurated a one day UNHCR organized mobile service to assist displaced who had returned from India after seeking refuge in India during the last several years. Mr.Jim Warrall, head of Field Office in Vavuniya and Head Quarters Inspector of Police in Vavuniya joined the GA during the ceremony.
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SLMC gets ready for general election

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 November 2003, 13:41 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, constituent of the ruling United National Front government Sunday said it has alerted its rank and file to get prepared to face a snap general election if the President and Prime Minister failed to reach an accord to resolve the current political crisis during the second round of talks scheduled to be held on Tuesday 18.
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Sri Lanka's President faces Hobson's choice - Sunday Leader

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 November 2003, 13:14 GMT]
In a scathing editorial criticising Sri Lanka's President for endangering the peace process by her "precipitate and stupid" actions of proroguing the parliament and sacking the Defense, Interior and Communication Ministers, the Sunday Leader, a popular weekly published in Colombo said, "Ms. Kumaratunge now faces Hobson's choice: "She cannot preserve the status quo and govern; neither can she call an election and hope to come close to victory.""
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Thousands of teaching vacancies in northeast schools

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 November 2003, 11:45 GMT]
There are presently 4820 teacher vacancies and 132 vacancies for principals in northeast schools, a conference held Saturday at the provincial education ministry auditorium in Trincomalee and presided by the Sri Lanka's Minister for School Education Mr.Suranimala Rajapakse, was told.
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Vadamarachchi fishermen refrain from going to sea

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 November 2003, 11:31 GMT]
Fishermen from the northern coastal villages in the Vadamarachi sector on the Jaffna peninsula say that they are unable to go out to sea as they fear their boats would crash against coral reef found around fisheries landing points. They say the coral reef should be removed to deepen the fishing landing points, but the Sri Lankan military (SLA) is obstructing their efforts, according to fisheries officials.
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PM holds talks with Malwatte Mahanayake

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 November 2003, 19:30 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasignhe Saturday afternoon called on the Mahanayake of Malwatte Chapter Most Venerable Rambukwelle Vipassi Thera in Kandy, capital of the central province and discussed the current political crisis. Senior minister Mr. G.L.Peiris and the chairman of the United National Party Mr.Malik Samarawickrema accompanied Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe to Kandy, government party sources said.
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STF, LTTE meet in Amparai

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 November 2003, 12:55 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Special Task Force (STF) officials and political wing leaders of the Liberation Tigers in the east of the island met at the local office of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) at Akkaraipattu in the Amparai, around 10 a.m., Saturday.
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Parliament to be reconvened as scheduled

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 November 2003, 12:15 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Parliament will be reconvened as scheduled on 19 November, the Secretary General of Parliament informed MPs Saturday. The Secretary General's letter ended speculations in Colombo that President Kumaratunga might delay the reconvening of the Parliament.
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US encourages continued negotiations with LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 November 2003, 10:46 GMT]
Adam Ereli, Deputy Spokesman, US Department of State, in the daily press briefing on 14 November said that the US is "disappointed that Norway's Negotiators have found it impossible to move forward with the peace process," and that the US "encourage[s] the [Sri Lanka] Government to continue negotiations with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam."
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TNA urges SL President to restore status quo ante

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 November 2003, 20:27 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance in a statement Friday urged Sri Lanka’s President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, to take appropriate steps to ensure that the situation of a lack of clarity and uncertainty now prevailing in the country following the take over of three ministries is ended by restoring the status quo ante.
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SLA reneges on agreement in Vadamarachchi

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 November 2003, 15:35 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army Friday failed to honor its promise to civil authorities that it would hand over the central dispensary and maternity home building located in Amban village and the sub office building of the Point Pedro Pradeshiya Sabah in the Vadamarachchi east division to the respective government departments. These buildings are located in the high security zone and occupied by SLA soldiers, civil sources said.
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Villager remanded for entering HSZ in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 November 2003, 15:29 GMT]
The Chavakachcheri Magistrate, Mr.B.Subramanian, Friday remanded a villager, Mr.Jeyathasan Selvarajah, when he was produced on a report that he had entered the high security zone of the Sri Lanka Army located in Nagarkovil in Vadamaradchi east division in the Jaffna district, legal sources said.
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SL President requests PM to continue peace talks

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 November 2003, 13:59 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, Friday requested the Prime Minister, Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, to continue the peace negotiation efforts in the context of recent changes.
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Sri Lanka's PM withdraws from peace process

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 November 2003, 10:40 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister, Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, Friday said that he has informed the President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, to take in charge of the peace process, saying he is unable to take forward the process launched two years ago due to the current political crisis.
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Don't sacrifice peace for political gain - NPC

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 November 2003, 10:18 GMT]
"The ongoing power struggle between the President and Government has reached a stage where it is clearly endangering the peace process", warned the National Peace Council (NPC), a Colombo based Sri Lankan peace group, in a media release today. NPC urged the Norwegian facilitators to reconsider their decision and appealed to the President and Government to create the conditions for their return. 
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Norway temporarily withdraws from peace process

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 November 2003, 06:09 GMT]
"Peace talks could have started tomorrow, provided there were clarity about who is holding political authority and responsibility on behalf of the Government to ensure the continuation of the ceasefire agreement and the resumption of peace negotiations. Until last week there was such clarity. Today there is no such clarity. Until such clarity is re-established, there is no space for further efforts by the Norwegian government to assist the parties.", Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Vidar Helgesen told reporters at a press conference held at Hotel Hilton at 11 a.m today.
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SLA said attacking Kiran villagers

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 November 2003, 04:08 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army personnel at the Kumburumoolai SLA camp in the Batticaloa district are attacking Tamil civilians following the recent death in nearby Kiran village of a soldier attached to the camp, who was part of a gang of soldiers engaged in several robberies in the village, sources said.
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Referendum on de-merging NorthEast postponed

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 November 2003, 17:48 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, has issued an extra gazette notification announcing the postponement of the referendum, which was to decide whether the temporarily merged Northern and Eastern provinces should be delinked or not, for another year. According to the gazette notification, the referendum for the east will be held on November 17th and for the north on December 01st next year, the Presidential secretariat said in a press release Thursday.
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IFJ calls for maintenance of freedom of press

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 November 2003, 17:19 GMT]
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has appealed to the President and Prime Minister of Sri Lanka to maintain freedom of the press and respect for the independence of journalists, particularly in the state-owned media, during the current political uncertainty in the island. The IFJ also appealed for the establishment of an independent media commission to oversee the state-owned media institutions, to ensure that the Government withdraws from the editorial process in Sri Lanka's state-owned media.
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Naranthanai murder case accused to be tried in High Court

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 November 2003, 16:11 GMT]
The Jaffna Magistrate, Mr.R.T.Viknarajah, on Thursday committed the four accused in the Naranthanai murder case to stand trial in the High Court at the end of the non-summary proceedings, stating that there was prima facie case against the accused, legal sources said.
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Speaker undecided on reconvening parliament

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 November 2003, 10:32 GMT]
The Speaker Mr. Joseph Michael Perera said Thursday that no one has asked him to reconvene the parliament before 19th November responding to a written request from a group of opposition parties that parliament should not be reconvened before the stipulated date fixed by the President in her proclamation proroguing the parliament, parliamentary sources said.
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SL President, Prime Minister brief their constituent parties

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 November 2003, 10:28 GMT]
President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge and Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe Thursday began separately briefing their constituent parties in the main opposition People Alliance (PA) and the United National Front (UNF) respectively with regard to the outcome of their talks held Wednesday at the Presidential House on the current political crisis, political sources said.
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UNF stresses the urgency to reconvene parliament

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 November 2003, 10:18 GMT]
"The burning problem of United National Front Government for the moment is the need to reconvene the parliament which has been prorogued by the President till November 19," the Cabinet spokesman and Constitutional Affairs Minister Mr. G.L.Peiris said Thursday at the weekly press briefing.
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Political stability necessary for talks - Pirapaharan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 November 2003, 06:33 GMT]
"Mr. Pirapaharan sought guarantees from the Norwegians that the Sri Lankan government would continue its commitment to the cease fire and for the safety of the LTTE’s political activists in areas controlled by the Sri Lanka army," Mr. Thamilchelvan said, after the meeting between the Norwegian delegation and the leaders of the Liberation Tigers concluded in Kilinochchi Thursday morning.
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Pirapaharan, Norwegians discuss peace, Colombo crisis

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 November 2003, 05:36 GMT]
Norwegian Deputy Minister, Mr. Vidar Helgesen, special envoy Eric Solheim, Norway’s Ambassador for Sri Lanka, Mr. Hans Brattskar met the Leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Mr. Velupillai Pirapaharan, for discussions about the peace process and the current political crisis in Colombo in Kilinochchi Thursday morning.
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Jaffna police collect details of government vehicles

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 November 2003, 00:20 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Police in Jaffna have started collecting information on vehicles now in the possession of government departments and other state institutions in the Jaffna district, official sources said.
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Coast conservation officials visit Vadamarachchi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 November 2003, 20:26 GMT]
A team of Coast Conservation Department officials including an engineer Wednesday visited the coastal areas of Vadamadarachchi in the Jaffna district on the instructions of the Prime Minister's office amid agitation by fisheries societies that they should be allowed to deepen the fisheries landing points that had been neglected for the last two decades, official sources said.
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TNA urges UNF not to abdicate responsibility

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 November 2003, 17:18 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance Wednesday told Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister, Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, that its support to the United National Front government was totally related to the peace process and assured him its continued support to further the peace process. The TNA urged the Prime Minister that the United National Front government should not abdicate its responsibility to meaningfully continue with the peace process.
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Sri Lanka’s President meets Norwegian envoys

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 November 2003, 16:54 GMT]
Norwegian deputy foreign minister Mr. Vidar Helgesen, special peace envoy to Sri Lanka, Mr. Erik Solheim, Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr.Hans Brattskar, and an officer of the Norwegian embassy in Colombo, Mr. Tomas Strangeland, met with Sri Lanka’s President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, and discussed the resumption of peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at the Janadipathi Mandiraya (President’s Residence) in Colombo Wednesday, sources said.
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SLA, Police harass TRO officer

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 November 2003, 16:26 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army and Police in Batticaloa stopped the vehicle in which the executive director of the Tamils’ Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) in the Batticaloa district, Mr. Kingsley Rajanayakam, was traveling on the Station road at about 7 p.m. Monday, and subjected him and his TRO vehicle to intrusive search and harassment, sources said.
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Amparai STF-LTTE meeting postponed

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 November 2003, 16:01 GMT]
The monthly meeting between the Liberation Tigers and Sri Lanka’s Special Task Force (STF) in the Amparai district, scheduled to be held Wednesday, was postponed indefinitely as a result of the current political and constitutional crisis in Sri Lanka, sources said.
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PM, President talks inconclusive

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 November 2003, 09:59 GMT]
The meeting between the President Kumaratunga and the Prime Minister Wickremesinghe ended inconclusively after discussing issues relating to the peace process and prospects for a government of national reconciliation, sources in Colombo said.
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Four suspects escaped from Trinco prison

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 November 2003, 06:25 GMT]
Four Tamil youths who were arrested, allegedly for possessing fire arms, are reported to have escaped from Trincomalee prison, in the early hours of Wednesday morning, police said.
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Can't give back Defence Ministry - PA

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 November 2003, 06:13 GMT]
PA media spokesman and parliamentarian, Dr.Sarath Amunugama, addressing a press conference Wednesday said that the Ministry of Defence cannot be handed over to the UNF government. PA asked the Speaker not to convene Parliament before 19th of Novemember as "it would be unconstitutional".
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Trinco Lions distribute mosquito nets

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 November 2003, 00:23 GMT]
The Lions International has launched a project, funded by the Global Fund to fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), to supply free mosquito nets to low income families in the Northeast Province. Under this scheme the distribution of 16,000 mosquito nets began in Trincomalee district Sunday to control the spread of malaria in resettled villages where sanitation facilities are poor, sources said
Full story >>

'Sangaree' issue to be decided at TULF working committee

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 November 2003, 17:25 GMT]
A request has been made to the Secretary General of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), Mr.R.Sampanthan, to summon the central working committee of the party to take disciplinary action against the party president, Mr.V.Ananadasangaree, for making statements contrary to the Tamil National Alliance’s stated positions as outlined in its manifesto, sources said.
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SLA order: no Tiger flags in schools

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 November 2003, 16:57 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army's Jaffna area commander, Major General Sarath Fonseka, has instructed all the five zonal directors of education in the Jaffna district not to allow any public events to take place in school premises during school hours. The circular issued in this regard has asked all education officials not to allow students and teachers to attend events in public places in school uniforms, education sources said.
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Thenmaradchchi IDPs protest against SLA occupation

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 November 2003, 14:36 GMT]
About fifty men and women with children who had been displaced in 2000 military operations of the Sri Lanka Army Tuesday morning held a sit in protest in front of the SLA camp located close to the railway gate at Kachchai road in Chavakachcheri area in Thenamaradchchi division in Jaffna district demanding the return of their houses which have been occupied by the soldiers, police said.
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"SL President's lack of sincerity will hamper peace efforts" -TNA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 November 2003, 12:34 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Tuesday told the Norwegian peace envoys that defense arrangements of the country should be left in the hands of one party that is dedicated to take forward the current peace process with sincerity. Sri Lanka's President's past actions of not responding to LTTE's unilateral ceasefire in December 2000 and her attempts to sideline Norway's peace envoy Eric Soleheim reflect her lack of sincerity and leaving the Peace Process in her command will damage peace efforts, TNA delegation added.
Full story >>

Jaffna islets' IDPs reluctant to return

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 November 2003, 11:30 GMT]
Only less than thirty percent of the internally displaced families from the islets of Jaffna district who fled the islets following 1990 military operations by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) have returned back to their former homes since the signing of the ceasefire agreement by the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), according statistics collected by civil authorities.
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Wickremesinghe will meet SL President tomorrow - Peiris

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 November 2003, 07:44 GMT]
The UNF spokesman and Minister of Constitutional Affairs Mr. G.L.Peiris said Tuesday that the Prime Minister Mr. Wickremsinghe is scheduled to meet with the President tomorrow to discuss the peace process.
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Most landmine accidents in Jaffna – UN group

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 November 2003, 06:49 GMT]
The United Nations Inter-Agency Working Group on Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in Colombo said Tuesday that most of the accidents caused by mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) occurred in Jaffna this year. UNDP supported de-mining began in Jaffna seven years ago. Today there are three international de-mining groups active in the peninsula, including one from the US army. The UNDP continues support. A year ago, the region controlled by the Liberation Tigers in the north had much larger and extensive concentrations of mines, minefields and UXOs than Jaffna.
Full story >>

Sri Lanka's PM invites TNA for talks

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 November 2003, 06:48 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe has invited the Tamil National Alliance for talks on Wednesday evening to discuss the present constitutional crisis and the future of the peace process. Earlier on the day Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe is scheduled to meet the President at the latter's invitation at the Presidential Secretariat, political sources said.
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More constitutional snags hit Sri Lanka’s crisis

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 November 2003, 04:14 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s constitutional crisis deepened further on Tuesday as MPs of the ruling United National Front (UNF) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) wrote to the Speaker of Parliament asking him to convene the national legislature before 19 November, the date on which President Kumaratunga’s prorogation of Parliament is due to expire. The UNF, TNA letter invokes Articles 4(c) and 42 of Sri Lanka’s constitution as the legal basis for reconvening Parliament during the prorogation. President Kumaratunga’s People’s Alliance (PA) and the JVP slammed the move as illegal.
Full story >>

Helgesen, Solheim arrive in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 November 2003, 03:45 GMT]
Norwegian deputy foreign minister, Mr. Vidar Helgesen, and special peace envoy to Sri Lanka, Mr. Erik Solheim, arrived in Colombo Monday night in an attempt to revive the stalled peace talks between the United National Front government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and on Tuesday morning conferred with the members of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, sources said Tuesday.
Full story >>

North-South journalists meet

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 November 2003, 03:28 GMT]
The North-South Journalists Association (NSJA) of Sri Lanka has been revived after about two years. A function to mark this event was held last Saturday at the Colombo Renuka Hotel under the patronage of the National Peace Council (NPC), sources said.
Full story >>

Eight-day Tamil music festival begins in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 November 2003, 02:57 GMT]
An eight-day Tamil music festival ' Rama Nama Ganamirtham,' organized by the Colombo Kamban Kazhaham began Monday evening in Colombo at Wellawatte Ramakrishna Mission Hall. The Supreme Court Justice, Mr. C.V.Vigneswaran, inaugurated the festival.
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Resettled Kanniya farmers to get paddy store

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 November 2003, 17:46 GMT]
The resettled farm families in the Kanniya village, about six km north of Trincomalee town on the Trinco-Anuradhapura road, are to get a new paddy store and co-operative retail shop. Earlier the paddy store and retail shop were completely destroyed without any remains at the site in the 1990 violence by Sri Lanka’s armed forces after entire villagers fled and sought refuge in the Vanni and other areas including in India, civil sources said.
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Jaffna’s leading educationist felicitated in Colombo

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 November 2003, 16:35 GMT]
A leading educationist from the Jaffna peninsula, Mr.K.Arunasalam, was felicitated on his seventy fifth birthday at an event held at the Wellawatte Sri Ramakrishna Mission Hall in Colombo Sunday evening. Mr.Arunasalam was the emeritus Principal of Vaddukoddai Hindu College and Chullipuram Victoria College in the Jaffna district and Paddiruppu Maha Vidiyalayam in the eastern province for several years, sources said.
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"Give priority to peace process"- Trinco DCC

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 November 2003, 16:30 GMT]
The Trincomalee District Chamber of Commerce (DCC) Monday appealed in a statement to the governing parties of Sri Lanka to eschew party politics and give top priority to the peace process.
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'Take control of peace process or return ministries' - UNF

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 November 2003, 14:39 GMT]
The United National Front government spokesman and Constitutional Affairs Minister, Professor G.L.Peiris, Monday said in a statement that if Sri Lanka’s President was not willing to assume control of the peace process, the UNF government must be “invested with responsibility for all aspects of the process, as was the case prior to the events of November 4th.”
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SL President invites PM for talks on national government

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 November 2003, 12:43 GMT]
In a letter sent to the Prime Minister Monday evening Sri Lanka’s President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge has invited Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe for talks on her proposal to form a Government of Reconstruction and reconciliation. She has given three dates and times to hold the talks, government sources said.
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Political impasse widens in Colombo

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 November 2003, 11:25 GMT]
The political gap between UNF and PA widened today as Prime Minister earlier today said he is prepared to face an immediate election while the President in a letter addressed to the Prime Minister has demanded to form a "Grand Alliance of all national and patriotic forces" with the objective of forming a "Government of National Reconstruction and Reconciliation".
Full story >>

WFP, TEEDOR help Muslims resettle in Mullaithivu

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 November 2003, 10:40 GMT]
Muslims who returned to Mullaithivu after a decade began rebuilding their homes and clearing their lands for cultivation with the assistance of the World Food Program (WFP) and the Thamil Eelam Economic Development Organisation (TEEDOR) of the Liberation Tigers, sources in Kilinochchi said.
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UNF prepared to face snap elections - Peiris

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 November 2003, 09:37 GMT]
The UNF spokesman and Minister of Constitutional Affairs Mr. G.L.Peiris said Monday that the Prime Minister Mr. Wickremsinghe and his government are prepared to face a snap election, media sources said. It is logical to assume that we have to resolve the "threshold issue" before anything else, Mr. Peiris is reported to have told the media. The Prime Minister's office denied earlier reports on the talks being postponed. The decision is to be taken after the LTTE's views are received through the Norwegian Foreign Deputy Mr.Helgesen, who is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka today.
Full story >>

Speaker to entertain request to reconvene parliament

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 November 2003, 08:30 GMT]
The Speaker of the Parliament, Mr.Joseph Michael Perera, Monday requested the leaders of the political parties who had attended a meeting in his chamber to submit a written request to reconvene the parliament before Tuesday. The main opposition Peoples Alliance (PA) and the Sinhala nationalist -Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) boycotted the party leaders meeting convened by the Speaker stating it was illegal, parliamentary sources said.
Full story >>

Book on "Ceasefire 2001-Lessons for the present” released

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 November 2003, 17:17 GMT]
"The time has come for all the lovers of peace to engage in a serious dialogue by contributing their share in solving this vexed [ethnic] problem by studying the [LTTE's] proposal and arriving at a consensus to implement it,” said Professor S.K.Sitrampalam, Professor of History and Dean for Graduate Studies at the University of Jaffna, addressing the introductory event of the book “ Ceasefire 2001-Lessons for the present” held at the Colombo Sri Lanka Foundation Institute Friday evening, sources said.
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NorthEast Trade Union criticises SL President's actions

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 November 2003, 14:56 GMT]
North East Trade Unions Federation (NETUF) at a special meeting held Sunday condemned the recent actions by the President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge as a step to derail the peace talks between the United National Front (UNF) government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)," sources said.
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UNF to bow out of Peace Process?

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 November 2003, 12:53 GMT]
"The government believes it is not possible to deal with the peace process unless only one party is in charge. Full control over the peace process by one party is necessary if the peace process is to be effectively managed," said Prof. G. L. Peiris, the Leader of the Sri Lanka Government delegation to the Peace Negotiations with Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in press briefing Sunday.
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SLA removes mine markers in Katkovalam

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 November 2003, 07:13 GMT]
Sri Lanka army soldiers Friday night removed markers put up on abandoned military bunkers in Katkovalam, a coastal village near Pt. Pedro town in Jaffna, by a Danish de-mining group, residents told TamilNet. “Mines and booby traps left behind by the SLA in bunkers in the midst of our village have claimed the limbs of six people since last year”, an official of the local fisheries society said.
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World Bank approves NEIAP-2 project for NorthEast

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 November 2003, 16:47 GMT]
Nn a request made by the North East Provincial Council (NEPC), the World Bank has approved in principle the implementation of the North East Irrigated Agriculture Project (NEIAP-2) under which five hundred more focal villages and two major irrigation schemes in the eight districts of the NorthEast province will be accommodated, sources said.
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US official on media familiarization tour to NorthEast

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 November 2003, 14:36 GMT]
Cody C.Taylor, Assistant Public Affairs Officer at the American Embassy in Colombo, visited Trincomalee to familiarize herself with media persons in the NorthEast province in Sri Lanka, sources said.
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TNA leaders meet to discuss Sri Lanka crisis

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 November 2003, 14:16 GMT]
The parliamentary group of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) held a meeting Saturday evening at the office of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) in Colombo and reviewed the President's address to the nation and the present political situation following the dismissal of three key ministers and the prorogation of the parliament for two weeks, TNA sources said.
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"Peace Process absolutely irreversible" - British Don

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 November 2003, 12:58 GMT]
"Tamil issue has always been a political football in the grounds of the Southern political discourse, but this time around the situation is entirely different. Transparency of talks and the high level of international engagement make the current Peace Process absolutely irreversible," said Sri Lanka expert Prof. Chris Smith, Director of Center for South Asia studies at the International Policy Institute, King's College, London when TamilNet asked him to comment on the recent constitutional crisis, precipitated by Sri Lanka's President Ms.Chandrika Kumaratunge.
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ISGA proposals discussed at Colombo seminar

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 November 2003, 00:02 GMT]
The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) in Colombo held a one-day seminar on the “Interim Self Governing Authority “ (ISGA) proposals submitted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam as its response to the government of Sri Lanka’s interim administrative structure proposals for the NorthEast, Friday afternoon at the Colombo Jai Hilton Hotel, sources said
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JVP, SLFP march in support of SL President

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 November 2003, 18:24 GMT]
Leaders of the Marxist and Sinhala Nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Buddhist monks and thousands of party activists and supporters Friday held a demonstration march in downtown Colombo under the Patriotic National Movement (PNM) banner, supporting President Chadrika Kumaratunga’s decision to take over key ministries of the United National Front government in the wake of the submission of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, sources said.
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I shall take the defense of the country - SL president

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 November 2003, 16:46 GMT]
"The Ceasefire Agreement between the UNF government and the LTTE will continue and the Norwegian monitors will be allowed to function with clear instructions. The Sri Lanka Army will be instructed to strictly abide by the ceasefire agreement. The Prime Minister can continue with the peace process. I shall take the defense of the country," said Sri Lanka's President, Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge, in her televised address to the country Friday night at about 9:45 p.m.
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Committee for advancement of education formed in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 November 2003, 16:23 GMT]
The importance of forming a committee for the advancement of education in the Vanni district was stressed by the Liberation Tigers’ educational and political divisions' leaders, at a meeting of education officials held at the Saiva Prakasa Ladies College in Vavuniya Thursday, sources said.
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Sri Lanka's PM stresses priority attention to peace process

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 November 2003, 10:16 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe said Friday that the continuation of peace process should receive priority attention. " I would meet all the political parties soon to take forward the peace process," he told journalists on his arrival in Colombo, media sources said
Full story >>

Emergency Regulations not gazetted

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 November 2003, 09:32 GMT]
"The recent changes effected to cabinet portfolios necessitated the formality of certain gazette notifications. The emergency regulations were also re-examined and revised," said a press statement from the Presidential Secretariat . The statement said further that "a state of emergency becomes law only after the President signs a proclamation. The President did not sign such a proclamation."
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Wickremesinghe returns home from high profile US visit

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 November 2003, 02:56 GMT]
United National Front (UNF) government ministers, parliamentarians and party activists thronged the country's international airport and accorded warm welcome to the Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremesinghe when he returned home Friday morning around 8.00am after a high profile official tour to the United States of America (USA) after meeting President George W.Bush, political sources said.
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"We are strong, we will be patient" – Col. Karuna

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 November 2003, 02:23 GMT]
“We have to observe the political turmoil in Colombo quite soberly. As you all know our leader has made no comment on the situation– he remains judiciously silent. We can remain patient as long as we are strong. Selfish gain and self-aggrandizement motivate and guide the politics of Sri Lankan leaders. Sri Lanka’s President has scuttled the peace process at a time when things were headed in the right direction," said Col. V. Karuna, addressing a function in Batticaloa Thursday night to release a music CD created by two military formations under his command.
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Vavuniya judicial officers demonstrate in support of CJ

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 November 2003, 01:27 GMT]
The judicial officers in Vavuniya protested against the alleged motion by the United National Front Government of Sri Lanka in parliament to impeach the Chief Justice (CJ), stopping work at half-day on Thursday to hold a demonstration, sources in the Northern town said.
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Kumaratunga presides over first NSC meeting

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 November 2003, 16:04 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, Thursday presided over the first meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) after she dismissed the defense minister of the United National Front (UNF) government, Mr.Tilak Marapone, Presidential secretariat sources said.
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LTTE cadre strangled to death in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 November 2003, 15:37 GMT]
The body of a youth found at the Trincomalee beach Tuesday morning close to Fort Frederick had been identified as that of an LTTE cadre, Mr. Nanthan, who was on leave from the Vanni recently. The postmortem examination held at the Trincomalee general hospital revealed that he had been strangled to death, medical sources said.
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No return to hostilities - PA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 November 2003, 14:13 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President, Ms.Chandrika Kumaratunge, is committed to the continuity of the ceasefire agreement and to keeping open the channel of communication with the LTTE with the objective of arriving at a negotiated settlement within a united country, the Presidential Secretariat said in a press release issued Thursday evening. "The President wishes to assure the people of the country that there will be no return to hositilities," said the press release.
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New chairman assumes duties at ANCL

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 November 2003, 12:44 GMT]
New chairman of Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd ( ANCL), Mr. Kesaralal Gunasekara, appointed by President Chandrika Kumaratunge, took over his duties Wednesday night visiting the news paper company with army and police security, sources in Colombo said.
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UNF requests Speaker to convene party leaders' meeting

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 November 2003, 12:24 GMT]
The United National Front Thursday requested the Speaker Mr.Jospeh Michael Perera to convene a conference of the leaders of all political parties represented in the parliament to discuss the present political situation, sources said.
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UNF urges SL President to reconvene parliament

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 November 2003, 11:49 GMT]
United National Front(UNF) government spokesman and Minister of Constitutional Affairs Mr. G.L.Peiris said Thursday that the President should summon the parliament immediately and to restore the three ministries to Ministers Mr.Tilak Marapone, Mr.John Amaratunge and Mr.Imtiaz Bakir Markar. "The government would decide on the future course of action once the Prime Minister returns home," said Mr.Peiris at the press briefing held Thursday afternoon, media sources said
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Parties should look for common ground - Schaffer

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 November 2003, 11:31 GMT]
Teresita Schaffer, former Ambassador of the United States to Sri Lanka and currently Director for South Asia, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC, told TamilNet Wednesday that it was "important for the government [of Sri Lanka] and the LTTE to start looking for common ground" and that she hoped "the current political crisis in Sri Lanka does not disrupt this vital task."
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Coconut trees in 20,000 acres destroyed in Trinco district

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 November 2003, 04:25 GMT]
The Coconut Cultivation Board (CCB) Tuesday inaugurated its seedling distribution to coconut growers in the Trincomalee district from its nursery after about twenty years. "Since 1983, coconut trees in more than twenty thousand acres of land have been destroyed in the two-decade-old war in the Trincomalee district," said the CCB’s Chairman, Mr. Lincoln Fernando, addressing the inaugural event held Tuesday in the premises of the CCB office at Kumburupiddy.
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UNF leaders prepare to welcome Sri Lanka’s PM

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 November 2003, 03:26 GMT]
Leaders of the United National Front government are making elaborate arrangements to accord a rousing welcome to the Prime Minister, Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, at the Katunayake International Airport (KIA) when he returns home Friday after a three day high profile official visit to the United States, UNF sources said.
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TNA parliamentarians extend support to UNF government

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 November 2003, 16:16 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians Thursday decided to support the motion of vote of confidence in the United National Front government, led by its Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, in Sri Lanka's parliament when it meets after prorogation. The notice of the motion is likely to be handed over to the Speaker Wednesday with signatures of about 130 parliamentarians, the UNF Chief Whip and Minister Mr.Mahinda Samarasinghe said Wednesday.
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EPDP, SLA said colluding in sand business

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 November 2003, 15:25 GMT]
The Eelam People’s Democratic Party, aided by the Sri Lanka Army and the Police, is removing sand at night from the Vadamaradchi east coast, where civil organizations recently imposed a ban on sand removal formed a committee to regulate it, and selling the sand in the Jaffna town area, sources in Jaffna said.
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Unwanted and badly timed political crisis - NPC

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 November 2003, 14:49 GMT]
Noting that the present alarming crisis in Sri Lanka is an end result of joint failure by both the opposition (PA) and the government (UNF), the National Peace Council (NPC), a Colombo based Sri Lankan peace group, in a media release issued in Colombo today warned that the "situation of political turmoil will prevent progress being made in the peace process."
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Swiss-aided school rehabilitation programme begins in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 November 2003, 14:40 GMT]
The Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation (SDC) Wednesday inaugurated a rehabilitation programme for several schools in the Jaffna district, which had been destroyed in the two decades old war, by laying the foundation for a two-storied building for the Chavakachcheri-Nunavil West Government Tamil School. The school was destroyed in 1990 when the Sri Lanka Army launched its military operation to take control of the peninsula, sources said.
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"Parties must work together to diffuse present crisis" - Cushnahan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 November 2003, 13:31 GMT]
In a press release today, Fine Gael Member of European Parliament (MEP) John Cushnahan said that "despite the alarming turn of events over the last 24 hours, they must work together to diffuse the current crisis and ensure the present peace process does not unravel." John Cushnahan, who returned yesterday from Sri Lanka where he was continuing his involvement with the Sri Lankan Peace Process, will raise the issue at today's plenary session of the European Parliament.
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US warns of "negative effect on Peace Process"

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 November 2003, 12:50 GMT]
U.S. State Department Deputy Spokesman Adam Ereli expressed concern that President Kumaratunga’s decision to sack three government ministers, suspend parliament, and deploy troops around the capital “could have a negative effect on the peace process and talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam,” the Office of Public Diplomacy, Embassy of United States of America in Colombo said in a press release issued Wednesday.
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TNA urges Sri Lankan President to respect people's verdict

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 November 2003, 10:31 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance Wednesday urged Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge to respect the verdict of the people at the parliamentary election held in December 2001. “Violation of democratic rules of Governance will inevitably lead to a situation of chaos and anarchy in the whole country,” the TNA said in a press release.
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A9 highway to Jaffna not closed - LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 November 2003, 10:16 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers wednesday denied reports in Colombo that the A-9 road has been closed. Mr. Daya Master, the Media Co-ordinator of the LTTE told TamilNet that "the A9 road remains open, there is no truth in the reports that we have closed the road".
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State of Emergency to be declared in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 November 2003, 08:31 GMT]
State of emergency is to be declared in Sri Lanka, said informed sources in Colombo. The Emergency regulations invest the government with wide ranging powers to arrest and detain persons and ban political activity.
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Kadirgamar slams door on LTTE proposal

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 November 2003, 07:44 GMT]
Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar, advisor to President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s and Sri Lanka’s former foreign minister, slammed the Liberation Tigers’ proposal for an Interim Self Governing Authority at a press conference in Colombo Wednesday to explain his party’s reaction to the LTTE’s suggestions. “We can in no way consider the LTTE’s proposal. It is totally unacceptable that they (Tigers) would have access rights to 2/3 of Sri Lanka’s coast. This is not negotiable”, the President’s confidante charged.
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Sri Lankan president moves to take over Ministry of Finance

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 November 2003, 06:56 GMT]
In a fresh move to take control of Ministry of Finance, Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga has sacked the Finance Minister of the country, Mr.K.N.Choksy. Secretary to the Finance Ministry, Mr. Charitha Ratwatte, is also removed, said sources in Colombo. Presidential secretariat denied the move while officials at Ministry of Finance confirmed it.
Full story >>

SLA to inspect fishermen's passes

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 November 2003, 03:23 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army in the Munai area of Point Pedro in the Jaffna district Tuesday went back to inspecting fishermen’s passes by itself, dropping the Sri Lankan Police supervision that was agreed two weeks ago, and the fishermen fear that this could renew the tensions between fishermen and the SLA, the president of the fisheries society in Munai, Mr. A. Arulthas, said Wednesday.
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EU, UN, US express concern over SL situation

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 November 2003, 21:37 GMT]
The European Union has expressed its concern over the action of Sri Lanka’s President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, Tuesday to sack three government ministers and the deployment of troops in Colombo. “The Presidency of the European Union and the European Commission believe that the recent developments in Sri Lanka may put at risk the spirit of cohabitation [between the President and the Prime Minister and the Cabinet of Ministers] which has proven vital for the sustained forward momentum of the peace process," the EU said in a statement Tuesday.
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SL President's actions 'desperate' and 'irresponsible' -Wickremasinghe

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 November 2003, 21:26 GMT]
Responding to the actions of Sri Lanka's President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, who sacked three key ministers of the United National Front government and prorogued parliament Tuesday, Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe, the Prime Minister, currently visiting Washington, DC, said in a statement that the " irresponsible and precipitous actions of the President [are] aimed at plunging the country into chaos and anarchy."
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SLA strengthens sentry points in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 November 2003, 16:39 GMT]
Soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army are strengthening their sentry points in Jaffna town. SLA personnel were seen Tuesday constructing new sentry points replacing old ones on Stanley Road,the Clock Tower road junction and the entrance to the 512 Brigade headquarters in the Jaffna town, civil sources said.
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SL Security forces remove speed breakers in Kodikamam

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 November 2003, 16:20 GMT]
Soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army along with police personnel Monday night removed the speed breakers which had been constructed in front of the Kodikamam Maveerar Thuyilum Illam (mausoleum) in the Thenmaradchchi division of the Jaffna district as a precautionary measure to avoid accidents, civil sources said Tuesday.
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LTTE's proposals significant - Armitage

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 November 2003, 11:11 GMT]
"The LTTE's proposal is the first time I've seen such a comprehensive delineation of the aspirations of the LTTE, and in this regard I think it's significant." United States Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage is reported to have told in a press meet in Washington.
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Troops deployed in city, Sri Lankan Parliament prorogued

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 November 2003, 09:47 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, prorogued the sittings of the Parliament until 19 November as Sri Lanka army took position at the state radio and TV stations and at Sri Lanka Telecom, the island’s telecommunications nerve centre. Security has been tightened at the government printing press where the gazette notification of the President's proclamations is to be published and made law.
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Sri Lanka's President sacks Ministers of Defense, Interior and Media

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 November 2003, 08:32 GMT]
The Presidential Secretariat Tuesday in a press release said that the President, Ms.Chandrika Kumaratunge, has removed Mr.Tilak Marapone, Mr.John Amaratunga and Mr.Imtiaz Bakeer Markar from their posts as Minister of defense, interior and media respectively.
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SLFP expresses "grave concern" over ISGA proposals

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 November 2003, 07:54 GMT]
SLFP issued a long statement today condemning the Tamil proposal for Interim Self-Governing Authority. "The SLFP, and the millions who support it, will never be a party to robbing the people of Sri Lanka of their sovereignty. The SLFP will not allow any international consortium or “safety net”, in the name of a spurious, unjust peace, to foist on the people of Sri Lanka any extra Constitutional arrangement that is not acceptable to all the People, all the communities that inhabit our land" said the statement.
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HRC holds inquiry into IDP's complaint

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 November 2003, 19:29 GMT]
A team of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRC) Monday visited the Kuppilan village in the Valigamam north division in Jaffna district and conducted an inquiry into the complaint made by the head of an internally displaced family that he had been refused permission by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to resettle in his house which is located six hundred meters outside the boundary of the high security zone, HRC sources said.
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SC entertains written submissions on Kumaratunga's petition

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 November 2003, 18:10 GMT]
The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka Monday entertained written submissions from the Counsels appearing for the petitioner, President Chandrika Kumaratunga, and the State in the inquiry into the petition seeking to resolve the issue of whether the executive president or the defense minister has the power over security of the country, legal sources said.
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Piling coal in Thampalakamam said cause of pollution

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 November 2003, 17:42 GMT]
Many thousand metric tons of coal unloaded at the Trincomalee harbor and piled on a plot of land located in a residential area at Thampalakamam, a Tamil village about 24 km west of the Trincomalee town, before being taken to the Puttalam cement factory, has caused environmental problems to the residents of the village and crops, said Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian for Trincomalee, Mr.K.Thurairetnasingham, in a letter faxed to Environment and Natural Resources Minister, Mr.Rukman Senanayake, Monday.
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Appeal Court to rule on objection to IA petition

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 November 2003, 16:30 GMT]
The Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka Monday reserved its verdict for December 18 on the preliminary objection raised by the Attorney General that the court did not have the power to issue an order on the petition seeking the court’s intervention to order a referendum in the Northeast province before the establishment of an interim administration, legal sources said.
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Tamil festival to be held in Manmunai

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 November 2003, 15:43 GMT]
The Manmunai West Cultural Federation will hold the ‘Muthamil Vizha’ (Tamil festival) Tuesday at the assembly hall of the Kannankudah Maha Vidiyalayam in Batticaloa, sources said.
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ISGA a base for further talks -LSSP

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 November 2003, 14:38 GMT]
Mr. Batty Weerakoon, leader of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), said Monday that the Government of Sri Lanka could carry forward the peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), sources said.
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Hakim to prepare alternate proposals for Muslims

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 November 2003, 13:42 GMT]
The leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and Minister Mr.Rauff Hakim said Monday that he did not want to comment on the Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals made by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
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SLFP to reveal its stand on ISGA Tuesday

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 November 2003, 13:33 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), chief constituent of the main opposition Peoples Alliance Monday said it has put off the special press briefing which was scheduled to be held Monday to announce its stand on the proposed Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA) for Tuesday. Meanwhile President Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge has been holding intensive consultation with leaders and constitutional experts of the SLFP and other allied parties, media sources said.
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Media reports on LTTE, UNF Ministers' meet false - LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 November 2003, 11:25 GMT]
In a press release issued from its Political Head Quarters in Kilinochchi Monday morning, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) denied media reports that said a meeting took place between Peace Secretariat Director Pulithevan and Senior ministers of the United Front Government, Ravi Karunanayake, lands Minister Rajitha Senaratne, Agricultural Minister S. B. Dissanayake and Rural Economy Minister Bandula Gunawardena, Sunday in Vavuniya.
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Hakim to meet his rival Athaullah on LTTE proposals

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 November 2003, 11:13 GMT]
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader and Minister Mr.Rauff Hakim on his return to Colombo Monday from Britain is scheduled to meet his rival and Minister Mr.A.L.M. Athaullah on Wednesday to discuss LTTE's proposal on the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA), political sources in Colombo said Sunday.
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U.S. Government supports resumption of peace negotiations

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 November 2003, 10:20 GMT]
Applauding the Norwegian government for its ongoing facilitation efforts, the U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka in a statement issued today in Colombo, said that it also believed that "it is possible for both sides to reach agreement on an interim administration which, over time, must lead into a permanent peace settlement".
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Rotary vocational award goes to garage owner

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 November 2003, 01:48 GMT]
A leading garage owner in the Trincomalee town, Mr.V.Karunanthasivam, was honoured with the Vocational Excellence award for the year by the Trincomalee Rotary Club at an event held at Rotary House Saturday evening. Sri Lanka's Rotary Governor, Mr. Gamini Jayawardene, presented the award during his official visit to Trincomalee.
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NorthEast sportsmen endure sinhala only Kurunagala meet

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 November 2003, 21:13 GMT]
The 29th annual National Sports Festival organized by the Ministry of Sports which ended in Kurunagala in the north western province Sunday evening disappointed hundreds of sportsmen and women from the NorthEast province as all announcements were in Sinhala language only and no Tamil word was heard or seen in print during the festival, sports sources said.
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Sampanthan to address seminar on ISGA

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 November 2003, 18:03 GMT]
The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) is organizing a one-day seminar on Friday, November 7, on the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for the Tamil dominated NorthEast province. Mr. R. Sampanthan, the parliamentary group leader of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is expected to speak on behalf of TNA, sources in Colombo said.
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SU demands Colombo to abandon peace process

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 November 2003, 17:03 GMT]
Extreme Sinhala nationalist party, Sihala Urumaya (SU), Sunday appealed to the United National Front (UNF) Government to terminate the peace talks with Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the basis of the contents of the proposals for interim self-governing authority (ISGA), which the SU said will lead to the formation of a separate state, media sources said.
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Proposal merits no discussions - JVP

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 November 2003, 16:52 GMT]
The Sinhala nationalist Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) said Sunday that the interim administrative structure proposal submitted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) deserves no discussions with any one and should be thrown into waste paper basket. The JVP pointed out that the proposal contained all powers required for a separate state in the island, media sources in Colombo said.
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Sri Lanka's President urged not to retake defense ministry

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 November 2003, 15:29 GMT]
The Mahanayake Theras of Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters Sunday appealed to the President of Sri Lanka, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, not to retake the post of defense ministry thus plunging the country into crisis at a time Sri Lanka has joined the global community to establish peace in the country, media sources said.
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Sangaree's attempt to pass confidence motion foiled

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 November 2003, 12:42 GMT]
The attempt made by the President of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), main constituent of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Mr.V.Ananadasangaree to pass a vote of confidence on him at a prayer meeting held at the Jaffna district secretariat of the TULF Sunday was foiled when the participants walked out of the hall, sources in Jaffna said.
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Sri Lanka’s Chief Justice to face impeachment motion

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 November 2003, 12:24 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Chief Justice of the Supreme Court , Mr.Sarath N.Silva, is to face an impeachment motion in parliament shortly, according to a decision taken by the United Front National (UNF) government, ruling party parliamentary group sources said Sunday.
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Amparai TULF calls for Sangaree's resignation

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 November 2003, 11:34 GMT]
At a special meeting of the Amparai district Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), main constituent of the Tamil National Alliance held Sunday it was unanimously decided to call Mr.V.Ananadasangaree to step down from the post of presidentship or face expulsion, TULF sources said.
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ISGA proposals indicate a constructive approach - NPC

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 November 2003, 08:28 GMT]
Noting "a great deal of effort has gone into formulating the proposals with the assistance of both local and international expertise and is indicative of a serious approach to dialogue and to the peace process", the National Peace Council (NPC), a Colombo based Sri Lankan peace group, in a media release issued in Colombo today said that "the LTTE has given concrete form to its expectations in a manner that is essentially compatible with peaceful coexistence in a united Sri Lanka".
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Rotary housing project for IDP's opened in Varothia Nagar

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 November 2003, 08:26 GMT]
A housing project comprising thirty-five houses constructed at a cost of about 3.46 million rupees for the returnees of internally displaced Tamil families implemented by the Trincomalee Rotary Club with the financial assistance of German Technical Co-operation (GTZ) was declared open Saturday at Varothyanagar, a suburb in Trincomalee town by the Rotary Governor Mr. Gamini Jayawardene.
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SLA tests Jaffna army drivers on traffic law

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 November 2003, 04:37 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army high command in the Jaffna district has taken steps to provide driving license to all its personnel who drive army vehicles on Jaffna roads. Hence the first written driving test examination for army drivers was held at the Varani Central Maha Vidiyalayam last Friday, security sources said.
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Committee to regulate sand excavation in Vadamaradchi

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 November 2003, 04:25 GMT]
Civil organizations in Vadamaradchi east division in the Jaffna district have lifted the nearly one month old ban on removing sand from Manalkadu and other villages in the division for construction works in the peninsula. However, a seven-member committee has been appointed by these civil organizations to identify site for removal of sand and to regulate the transport of sand from the division, civil sources said.
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Civilian injured in SLA vehicle collision in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 November 2003, 04:03 GMT]
S.Vijayaratnam of Nachchimar Kovilady in Jaffna, was seriously injured in an accident in which a truck of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and a motor bicycle collided Saturday morning at the Kankesanthurai road junction in Jaffna town. The injured civilian was riding the motorcycle at that time, and was admitted to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital by a group of residents of the area, police said.
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Documentary Video on Women Tigers released

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 November 2003, 00:04 GMT]
A documentary video production labelled Akkini Paravaikal ('Volcanic Birds') depicting the evolutionary growth of the women tiger movement, including the early experiences in the battle field, training methods used and social difficulties faced by fighters within the conservative Tamil society, was released in Kilinochchi at 5pm Saturday, LTTE sources in Vanni said.
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Important step forward in the peace process - EU Heads of Mission

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 November 2003, 23:34 GMT]
Taking note of the ISGA proposals, EU Heads of Mission in Colombo, expressed hope in the resumption of talks and said this is an important step forward in the peace process.
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The way forward lies through direct discussion - GoSL

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 November 2003, 20:26 GMT]
The government of Sri Lanka in a statement issued today said that the proposals "differ in fundamental respect" from the proposals submitted by the government of Sri Lanka. However the GoSL statement said that ''the government is convinced that the way forward lies through direct discussions of the issues arising from both sets of proposals.''
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Counselling Home for mentally ill celebrates anniversary

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 November 2003, 09:45 GMT]
Vettimanai ("Victory Home"), a counselling aid center for mentally ill women, located in the village of Akkarayan, Kilinochchi district, celebrated its twelfth anniversay on Friday afternoon, sources in Vanni said. Victory Home is one of several rehabilitation centers run by the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO).
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Tigers release proposal for Interim Self Governing Authority

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 November 2003, 06:25 GMT]
The Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposed by the Liberation Tigers will have plenary power for the governance of the northeast, including powers in relation to resettlement , rehabilitation, reconstruction and development, raising revenue, law and order, and over land, according to the LTTE document released on Saturday. The ISGA will continue until a final settlement to Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict is reached and implemented, according to the document.
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