"Medical development, key to our success"- Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 July 2004, 12:50 GMT]
"Our leader's emphasis on developing the needs for our medical division from early days of our struggle, laid the firm foundation that saved the lives of our people and our fighters during the dark periods of war," said LTTE Head of the Political Wing, S.P.Thamilchelvan, during the opening ceremony of a modern ward at the Dr.Ponnambalam Memorial Hospital in Puthukudiyiruppu in Vanni Friday, sources said.
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Hundred thousand drop in Jaffna student population - GA

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 July 2004, 11:34 GMT]
Jaffna's student population has dwindled by more than a hundred thousand since 1995, Government Agent for the northern district said Friday, speaking at a meeting on development priorities in the peninsula. Educationists in Jaffna say prolonged war, poverty, displacement and garrisioning of entire towns and villages by Sri Lankan armed forces caused the huge drop in the peninsula's student population.
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CFA is in jeopardy- Gajendrakumar

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 July 2004, 03:30 GMT]
"...Ceasefire agreement [CFA] itself is in grave jeopardy, and without the ceasefire, there cannot be a peace process at all," said Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian from Jaffna district, when TamilNet caught up with him in Washington D.C. and asked him for his views on the steadily deteriorating situation in Sri Lanka. Gajendrakumar is currently on a U.S. tour meeting with U.S. officials and addressing Tamil expatriates in different States.
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ISGA critical to peace, Tamil MPs tell US Think Tank

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 July 2004, 02:14 GMT]
In a panel session organized by Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington D.C., Mr.R.Sampanthan and Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians, told the audience that implementation of Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposed by the LTTE is critical to sustainable peace. Ms.Teresita Schaffer, former U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and CSIS Director of South Asia program presided the meeting.
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Gajendrakumar on U.S. visit

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 July 2004, 04:30 GMT]
Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, Jaffna district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, joined Mr. Sampanthan, Parliamentary Group leader of TNA who arrived in the U.S. a week earlier, to address Tamil audience at the annual convention of the Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America (FeTNA) Sunday evening in Baltimore U.S., sources in U.S. said.
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Speaker urged to safeguard democracy in Parliament

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 June 2004, 13:25 GMT]
The members of opposition political parties in the Sri Lanka's parliament numbering about 114 Thursday submitted a petition to the Speaker to take steps to safeguard democracy in the parliament. Leaders of the common opposition took this step in a major reaction to the battle in parliament Tuesday and to show that they are in a majority and to assert their authority, political sources said.
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Sri Lanka parliament to debate Kandapola shooting

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 May 2004, 00:38 GMT]
Sri Lanka Parliament Speaker, Mr.W.J.M.Lokkubandara, Thursday agreed to allocate time for a debate in the parliament on the Kandapola incident last week in which two Tamil youths were killed when the police opened fire on a group of upcountry Tamils, political sources in Colombo said.


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EU urged to suspend aid until ISGA is established

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 May 2004, 00:24 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Thursday appealed to the member countries of the European Union to release their aid to the Sri Lanka government only after the establishment of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) in the northeast province, sources said.


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Norwegian peace envoy meets TNA delegation

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 May 2004, 20:05 GMT]
"Peace talks between the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) should be held on the basis of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposal. The UPFA government should not use the opportunity of holding peace talks as a device to strengthen its position in the parliament and to obtain foreign aid," the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) delegation told the visiting Norwegian special peace envoy Mr. Erik Solheim during a discussion held Tuesday evening at the Norwegian embassy in Colombo, TNA sources said.


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All 20 TNA Parliamentarians issue joint statement

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 April 2004, 04:42 GMT]
"In view of the speculative reports in the media, all Members of Parliament elected from the North-Eastern region in the name of Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchchi emphatically state that we are unequivocally and irrevocably committed to the political aspirations of the Tamil people for over the past fifty years for self rule in a unified north-eastern region, which has been the acknowledged as the area of historical habitation of the Tamil speaking people," said 20 Tamil National Alliance parliamentarians in a joint statement issued Wednesday night after two days of discussions held in Colombo.
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Jaffna student leader gets most preferential votes

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 April 2004, 14:07 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) candidate, Selvarajah Gajendran, who is also the president of International Student Organization, obtained the most preferential votes, 112,077, in Jaffna, according to unofficial counts revealed by the election counting offices in Jaffna.
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"Thanthai” Chelva remembered on 106th birthday

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 31 March 2004, 04:15 GMT]
The 106th birthday of the late Tamil leader and the founder of the Federal Party (Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchchi -ITAK), Mr.S.J.V.Chelvanayakam, falls on Wednesday. Tamils in the country, who still fondly remember Mr. Chelvanayakam as “Thanthai (father) Chelva,” will celebrate the late leader's birthday Wednesday at a time when the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is contesting the forthcoming general elections on the ITAK ticket, with its HOUSE symbol revived after 37 years, political sources said.
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TNA must win all nine seats in Jaffna - Gajendrakumar

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 March 2004, 11:23 GMT]
"It is the historical duty of Tamil people of Jaffna to elect Tamil National Alliance (TNA) candidates in all nine electoral divisions in Jaffna district to send a clear message to the International Community that Liberation Tigers are the sole representatives of the Tamil people," said Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam in an election meeting held in Point-Pedro, daily Uthayan reported.
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TNA manifesto released in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 01 March 2004, 10:10 GMT]
A political solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka should be based on the recognition of the Tamil speaking people’s homeland, the Tamils’ identity as a distinct nation, and their right to self-determination, according to the manifesto of the Tamil National Alliance, which was released at a press conference in the TNA’s elections office in Jaffna Monday. "The Sinhala nation should come forward soon to resume peace talks with the Liberation Tigers for establishing the Interim Self Governing Authority," the manifesto states.
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TNA, LTTE begin deliberations on manifesto

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 February 2004, 12:00 GMT]
Party leaders of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Liberation Tigers began deliberations on drafting the election manifesto of the TNA in Kilinochchi Tuesday. The meeting was adjourned in the afternoon for lunch. LTTE and TNA leaders said that the deliberation would continue later in the day and on Thursday.


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TNA submits nomination lists for NE electoral districts

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 February 2004, 08:42 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Monday noon submitted its nominations for the five electoral districts, Jaffna, Vanni, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Amparai, in the Tamil dominated northeast province. TNA fielded its candidates in the name of the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK) and its election symbol "HOUSE". The ITAK last contested in the 1970 elections under the leadership of late Tamil leader Mr.S.J.V.Chelvanayakam ("Thanthai Chelva"), political sources said.
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TNA to meet again to decide on election symbol

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 February 2004, 15:36 GMT]
The leaders of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) will meet again on February 18th to take a final decision regarding the election symbol to contest the forthcoming parliamentary general election, which is to be held on April 2, party sources said. TNA leaders took the decision to this effect at a discussion held Sunday evening at the headquarters of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), main constituent of the TNA.


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TNA discussions on election strategy to continue

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 February 2004, 00:02 GMT]
The second round of discussions among the leaders of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to map out their election strategy concluded Wednesday night with a decision to meet again for the third round of talks on Sunday evening in Colombo. TNA parliamentary group leader Mr.R.Sampanthan presided. The first round of talks was held Tuesday evening, TNA sources said.
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Chandrasekaran briefs TNA leaders on alliance

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 February 2004, 18:24 GMT]
Leaders of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) held extensive discussion Tuesday to map out their election strategy to contest the forthcoming general election. The discussion commenced at about 5 p.m. at the Colombo headquarters of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), and was concluded at 10 p.m with a decision to meet again on Wednesday evening to finalize electoral arrangements, TNA sources said.
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ACTC rejects voting for policy, symbol

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 February 2004, 12:40 GMT]
Mr. Appathurai Vinayagamoorthy, the leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, a constituent of the Tamil National Alliance, told TamilNet Tuesday that his party will not agree to contest the forthcoming general elections on the basis of symbol and policy. He said his party will decide whether to join the TNA or not only after Mr. Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, MP who is currently abroad, returns to Colombo later this week.
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