Balasingham ill, leaves for London - VoT

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 May 2003, 14:16 GMT]
Political advisor and leader of the peace delegation for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Mr. Anton Balasingham, suddenly fell ill in Kilinochchi and is on his way to London, Voice of Tigers (VoT) reported in its evening broadcast, Sunday.
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Education of 5000 children affected in Pallai region

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 May 2003, 12:22 GMT]
Three schools in Kilali, Allipallai and Muhamalai areas in Pallai region in Kilinochchi district cannot function in the original premises due to the occupation of school buildings by the Sri Lanka security forces, said Mr. Ariyaratnam, the Kilinochchi district Commissioner of Education.


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Families of Vanni disappeared strapped in poverty

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 May 2003, 10:43 GMT]
Families and relatives of 184 Tamils who disappeared after being arrested by Sri Lanka security forces between 1996 and 1998 while the forces occupied Kilinochchi, have not been given assistance by any Government authorities or any Humanitarian organizations and are living in abject poverty, sources in Kilinochchi said.


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Akashi expresses confidence in LTTE joining aid talks

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 May 2003, 01:16 GMT]
Efforts to resolve the technical issues relating to administering North East Reconstruction Fund and to make the Subcommittee on Immediate Humanitarian and Rehabilitation Needs (SIHRN) more effective are underway to enable resumption of peace talks between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), said Japanese special peace envoy Mr.Yasushi Akashi Friday in a press conference in Kilinochchi.
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Colombo to take positive steps to resume talks with LTTE-Peiris

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 May 2003, 16:37 GMT]
Sri Lanka's cabinet spokesman, Minister G.L.Peiris, said Thursday that the Sri Lanka government is in the process of taking positive steps to accelerate the resettlement of internally displaced and to strengthen the function of the Subcommittee on Immediate Humanitarian and Rehabilitation Needs(SIHRN) in an attempt to bring the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam back to the negotiating table.


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Norway delegation meets Balasingham, LTTE commanders

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 May 2003, 11:45 GMT]
Norwegian delegation comprising special envoy, Eric Solheim, Norway's ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr. Hans Brattskar, Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Tryggve Tellefsen, Second Secretary Tomas Stangeland and Advisor in the Foreing Ministry of Norway Ms Lisa Golden met with Mr. Anton Balasingham, Political Advisor and Leader of the Negotiating team of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, S.P. Thamilchelvan, Head of the LTTE political wing, Dr. Jay Maheswaran, LTTE commanders Col. Theepan, Col. Soosai, and Col. Banu this morning at the LTTE political head quarters in Kilinochchi.
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Akashi meets Pirapaharan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 May 2003, 00:02 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Wednesday told the Japanese peace special envoy Mr Yasushi Akashi that they would consider his request to participate at the Aid Donor conference in Japan seriously if the Government of Sri Lanka took positive steps towards implementing decisions taken at six previous rounds of talks, sources in Vanni said.


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LTTE's participation in Tokyo meeting crucial for peace process - Solheim

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 May 2003, 12:03 GMT]
“Participation of the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the International Aid conference to be held in Tokyo next month is crucial for obtaining much needed funds to develop both LTTE controlled areas in the Northeast and Sri Lanka south. If the LTTE fails to attend, international community will be reluctant to commit funds. Further, it will also be a setback to the peace process,” said Norway’s special emissary Eric Solheim in Vavuniya today.
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Japanese peace envoy in Killinochchi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 May 2003, 10:59 GMT]
The Japanese special peace envoy Mr.Yasushi Akashi arrived Killinochchi Wednesday morning by a special helicopter of the Sri Lanka Air Force to meet leaders of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and was received by deputy political secretary of the LTTE Mr.S.Thangan, sources in Vanni said.
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Peace facilitators strive to restart peace talks

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 May 2003, 02:57 GMT]
The political advisor of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Mr.Anton Balasingham arrived Killinochchi Monday via Katunayake international airport after having discussions with Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Vidar Helgessen in Colombo Monday morning, diplomatic sources said.
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GA demands action to improve Kilinochchi postal service

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 May 2003, 15:20 GMT]
Mail is not delivered to a third of the families in the Kilinochchi district, even a half-mile beyond the Kilinochchi town, and immediate action is needed to restore mail delivery, the district’s government agent (GA), Mr. T. Rasanayakam, told Sri Lanka’s Minister for Mass Communication, Mr. Imtiaz Bakeer Markar, at a meeting held at the Vavuniya secretariat, sources said.
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SLMM head meets Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 May 2003, 19:37 GMT]
Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) head Major General (retired) Tryggve Tellefsen met with Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) head of the political section Thamilchelvan saturday afternoon at 2.45pm for three hours on issues related to avoiding future incidents at sea, locating High Security Zones (HSZ) within population centers in Jaffna and other matters, said sources in Vanni.
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Jaffna to get daily mail delivery

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 May 2003, 11:42 GMT]
Imtiyaz Bakeer Markar, Minister of Communications, Government of Sri Lanka, is expected to ceremoniously open the Vavuniya Main Post Office renovated at a cost of Rs.3m at 9.30am tomorrow, sources in Vavuniya said. A modern communication center with e-mail, internet, and telephone facilities will also be opened in another event to be attended by the Lankan minister.
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Colombo optimistic of LTTE participation in peace talks

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 May 2003, 00:10 GMT]
The United National Front government of Sri Lanka Wednesday expressed optimism that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam would participate in the Aid Donors' Summit, which is scheduled to be held in the first week of June in Tokyo, Japan.
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Norwegian ambassador meets Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 April 2003, 13:40 GMT]
The newly appointed Norwegian ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr. Hans Brattskar, accompanied by the outgoing ambassador, Mr. Jon Westborg, Wednesday held extensive talks with the political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, at the LTTE's headquarters in Kilinochchi, Vanni sources said.
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Moolai hospital struggles to get back on feet

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 April 2003, 00:15 GMT]
Moolai Hospital in Jaffna, the only large co-operative society medical facility in the northeast, lies largely useless today owing to the lack of doctors, patients and the presence of the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) in its environs. Like most schools, hospitals, other public utilities and temples in the northeast, 16 months of peace and many rounds of negotiations between the Liberation Tigers and Colombo have done little to improve the fortunes of this unique achievement of Jaffna’s co-operative movement.
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White Pigeon branch opened in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 April 2003, 22:26 GMT]
The Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) sponsored White Pigeon Technical Institute, headquartered in the Vanni region, opened its third branch Monday at Ananadapuri, three km to the north of Trincomalee town, TRO sources said.
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Pallai prepares to commemorate capture of Elephant Pass

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 April 2003, 13:12 GMT]
Preparations are underway to hold a commemorative event in Pallai to celebrate the third anniversary of the fall of the strategically crucial Elephant Pass garrison and the successful defeat of operation 'Agni Khela' by the Liberation Tigers (LTTE), sources in Pallai said.


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EPS fall: reassessing LTTE's manoeuvre warfare prowess

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 April 2003, 21:26 GMT]
Three years ago, on April 22nd, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) hoisted their flag in the heart of what was once one of the most fortified military garrisons in South Asia. The fall of Elephant Pass, described as "impregnable" by a US army officer who visited the garrison months earlier, established the Tigers as the only non-state military force in the world today capable of complex manoeuvre war fighting.
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Peacetime maternity deaths rise in Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 April 2003, 19:30 GMT]
The medical facilities available in Kilinochchi during the current period of peace is worse than what was available during the war, medical officials in Kilinochchi said, quoting statistics from government officials that show that seven women died during their maternity care at hospitals in Kilinochchi in the last year.
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