Tamil Conference begins in Batticaloa amidst bomb explosion

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 02 August 2005, 10:35 GMT]
A district level conference supporting the Tamil National Resurgence convention held in Vavuniya on July 27, ceremonially began at 4:15 p.m. at the grounds of Batticaloa Hindu College in Batticaloa town Tuesday. More than 1500 participants from various parts of the districts, comprising Tamil national activists including academics, writers, religious dignitaries, representatives of civil organisations and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MPs are participating in the conference amidst threats from paramilitary cadres operating in the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) held Batticaloa town. A powerful time-bomb exploded 50 meters from the grounds at 2:30 p.m., according to the Batticaloa Police.
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Batticaloa liquor salesman injured in grenade attack, dies

[TamilNet, Monday, 01 August 2005, 22:34 GMT]
Mr. Ratnasingham Sivakumar, 30, a salesman at a Liquar shop in Batticaloa succumbed to his wounds at Batticaloa hospital from injuries received from a grenade attack. An unidentified attacker lobbed a grenade into the liqour shop at Pillayaradi in Sinna Urani, 5 km north of Batticaloa where Mr. Sivakumar was employed. The attack took place Monday around 2:00 p.m.
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US's strategic interests in Sri Lanka- Taraki

[TamilNet, Saturday, 30 July 2005, 18:45 GMT]
What are the US government’s strategic interests in Sri Lanka? If the US has specific strategic interests in the island, then what are the means and modes by which it was and is securing them? Dharmaretnam Sivaram, popular military analyst and senior editor at TamilNet was working on this feature when he was abducted and killed on 28 April 2005.
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SLMM meets LTTE, TNA parliamentarians in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 July 2005, 23:47 GMT]
Members of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) met with Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians Sivanathan Kishor and Sivasakthi Ananthan at 2.30 pm Friday at the SLMM offices in Vavuniya, and had another meeting with Vavuniya district Head of LTTE political wing Gnanam and Peace Secretariat co-ordinator for Vavuniya Mr Kumaravel at 3.30 pm at the LTTE political offices, sources in Vavuniya said. Discussions centered on Thursday's Thirunavatkulam grenade explosion and the recent increase in threats of violence, according to sources.
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Jaffna Tamil youth reported missing

[TamilNet, Thursday, 28 July 2005, 16:27 GMT]
Mr.Gunaretnam Rajatheepan (22) of Navakiri in Puttur, Jaffna district, is reported missing since July 18 after he left for Batticaloa. He has been enrolled as a student of the Batticaloa National College of Education, according to a complaint lodged with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) Thursday morning by his parents, civil sources said.


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Trinco Lions honour Past Presidents, appoint new Head

[TamilNet, Thursday, 28 July 2005, 02:51 GMT]
Mr.A.Ramanan was appointed as the fourteenth President of the Lions Club of Trincomalee Town and eight Past Presidents Messrs Ben Xavier, T.Sivaretnarajah, M.S.Devadasan, N.Mahendran, B.Janaranjan, M.M.Jalaldeen, B.Udhayasankar and A.Ravindrarajah of the Club were honored at an event held last weekend at Silver Beach Hotel in Trincomalee, sources said.
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Tamil National Resurgence Convention begins in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 July 2005, 09:37 GMT]
A Tamil national resurgence conference with more than one thousand Tamil national activists comprising academics, writers, religious dignitaries, representatives of civil organisations and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MPs from Amparai, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Jaffna, Vanni and Mannar, began in Vavuniya at 10:30 a.m on Wednesday at Vairavapuliyankulam Children's Park. Leaders of the Up-Country Peoples Front (UPF) and the Western Province Peoples' Front (WPPF) are also participating in the conference, sources in Vavuniya said.
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Tamil Uprising Convention to be held Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 26 July 2005, 10:59 GMT]
Tamil National Uprising Convention is to be held in Vavuniya at the Vairavapuliyankulam Children's Park on Wednesday where about one thousand delegates from civil groups in the northeast province are expected to participate, organizers of the conference said.
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JVP launches campaign against CFA in south

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 July 2005, 15:58 GMT]
More than 1500 cadres and supporters of Marxist Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) staged a protest demonstration against the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) demanding Colombo to make the CFA null and void. The main protest was held in front of the Colombo Fort Railway Station Monday evening from 4:30 p.m to 5:30 p.m. Similar protests were also held in Kalutura, Puttalam, Kandy, Matala, Monaragala, Ratnapura and Anurathapura on Monday.


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Violence shuts down Mannar private busses

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 July 2005, 13:51 GMT]
Private bus traffic in Mannar came to a halt following three violent incidents between Sri Lankan government operated Transport Board (SLTB) bus drivers from Vavuniya depot and private bus operators from Mannar, affecting large number of passengers Monday, sources from Mannar said.
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TNA seeks govt. stand on Trinco Buddha statue issue

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 July 2005, 06:06 GMT]
Mr.R.Sampanthan, Tamil National Alliance ( TNA ) parliamentary group leader and Trincomalee district parliamentarian made a statement in parliament Wednesday morning seeking the Government to reveal its stand on the Trincomalee Buddha statue issue following the withdrawal of the case filed by the Attorney General in the Trincomalee District Court for the removal of the statue.
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German Foundation donates water pumps

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 July 2005, 17:58 GMT]
Juergen Wahn Stiftung, a German Foundation which has been funding the Veloor Development Project since the village was destroyed by tsunami disaster, Sunday donated water pumps with accessories worth about 2 million rupees to 41 farmers to restart their cultivation.
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New Ministers take oath

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 July 2005, 10:22 GMT]
Five Cabinet Ministers, a non Cabinet Minister and six Deputy Ministers took their oaths today Monday, 18th July 2005, before Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga, a media release from the Presidential Media Unit issued in Colombo said Monday.
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Colombo's political drama shatters hopes for peace- LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 July 2005, 03:14 GMT]
"As Tamil people have repeatedly witnessed in their tortuous history of the past several decades, Colombo has shown its reluctance to provide remedies to Tamil people even after humanitarian disasters of colossal proportions. Sinhala leaders under severe international pressure, signed the deal after dragging for six long months, the Sinhala chauvinists then staged protests to derail the deal, and when all techniques were exhausted Sinhala nationalists engaged the willing apex court to use constitutional reasoning to scuttle the deal," said S P Thamilchelvan after a 4-hour long meeting with the TNA leaders in Kilinochchi Sunday.
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Court ruling adds fuel to Sri Lanka chauvinism- Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 July 2005, 19:36 GMT]
"Sri Lanka's Supreme Court's ruling on the P-TOMS is not a challenge to Tamil people but to the two main political parties, Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and United National Party (UNP). The ruling ia a boost to the chauvinist forces that insist on the continuation of the unitary constitution and would like to see the P-TOMS abrogated," said Mr.R.Sampanthan, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary group leader addressing members of the Trincomalee branch of Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) Saturday morning in his residence, sources said.
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Thamilchelvan to meet TNA parliamentarians on Sunday

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 July 2005, 05:07 GMT]
Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, Political Head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is to meet all twenty-two Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians of the northeast province on Sunday evening at Killinochchi political secretariat. Mr. Thamilchelvan is expected to brief TNA parliamentarians about the thinking of LTTE leadership on the present volatile situation in the northeast, TNA sources said
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Historic Trinco Sivan Temple Chariot festival held

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 July 2005, 01:21 GMT]
The annual "THER" festival of the four-century-old historic Sri Visvanathaswami (Sivan) Temple in Trincomalee was held Tuesday morning after about twenty-two years in a newly constructed thirty-three feet tall chariot. The trial run of the new chariot buit at a cost of Rs 4 million was held Monday morning.
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Student killed in grenade attack in Eravur

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 July 2005, 13:33 GMT]
A nineteen year old student, Mr. Perinpam Sangarapillai, was killed Monday night around 9.00 PM by unknown attackers who lobbed a grenade at him at Savukkady on Tharavari Road in Eravur. Mr. Perinpam was returning home in bicycle after attending a computer course.
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Trinco mourns deaths of LTTE cadres

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 July 2005, 10:11 GMT]
"The ceasefire now in operation has become a question mark because of the complicity and collusion of a section of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) with paramilitaries in attacking unarmed LTTE cadres doing political work in army controlled areas," said Mr.S.Elilan, LTTE Trincomalee district political head Monday evening at the meeting held in Trincomalee esplanade to pay last respects to LTTE cadres killed in the Sunday Chelvanayakapuram attack, sources said.
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ICRC takes bodies of LTTE cadres from Trinco to Sampoor

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 July 2005, 17:07 GMT]
The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) Monday evening took charge of bodies of Lt.Colonel Dikkan alias Vengai (Sebastiampillai Jeyachandran, Ward No 06, Periyakulam, Sambaltivu), Second Lieutenant Ilampuli (Thangarajah Wijendrarasa, Koonitheivu, Muttur) and Anushan Kulasingham, National Auxiliary Force member at the Trincomalee esplanade to be handed over at Sampoor in the LTTE held Muttur east for burial, sources said. They were killed Sunday morning by an unidentified group at Chelvanayakapuram farm complex.
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