HR Group meets to finalize Charter

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 August 2004, 12:49 GMT]
Northeast Secretariat of Human Rights (NESOHR), formed on the 9 July to monitor the human rights violations and implement actions to strengthen the human rights in the NorthEast, held its second meeting Sunday with Head of LTTE Political Wing, S.P.Thamilchelvan attending, to finalize NESOHR' charter, LTTE's Peace Secretariat website said.
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Death at noon creates crack in Sri Lanka's defences

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 August 2004, 02:31 GMT]
Mr. Kandaiah Yoharasa alias PLOTE Mohan was the most dreaded Tamil paramilitary operative that ever worked with the Sri Lankan armed forces in their war against the Liberation Tigers. His name once evoked terror among the people of Batticaloa. He was an invaluable if not indispensable part of Sri Lanka's intelligence and counter insurgency operations against the LTTE.
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Anura blames UNP for planting Karuna story

[TamilNet, Saturday, 31 July 2004, 00:44 GMT]
Minister and Sri Lanka President’s Advisor Mr.Anura Bandaranaike today castigated former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe for attempting to make him earn the wrath of the Liberation Tigers by planting a concocted story in Colombo media that he transported LTTE renegade leader Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan (Karuna) to Singapore.


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SLA accused of distributing porn in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 July 2004, 17:12 GMT]
''Sri Lanka military leadership in Jaffna is engaged in weakening the Tamil liberation struggle by introducing obscene literature and blue films to students and youths to corrupt their minds,'' said Jaffna district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Mr.S.Gajendran addressing a meeting of the International Thamileelam Students Federation (ITSF) Thursday, sources in Jaffna said.
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UNP to support peace talks based on ISGA proposal

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 July 2004, 00:18 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) said Thursday in a press briefing that it would support the resumption of peace talks by the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the basis of LTTE's Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposal.


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Mullaithivu fishermen still at risk- MP

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 July 2004, 16:50 GMT]
''The fishing community of Mullaithivu suffered immensely during the war. But the Sri Lanka Navy continues to terrorise them even after two years of peace'', Mr. Sathasivam Kanakaratnam, Tamil National Alliance MP for Vanni, told TamilNet Thursday. He said two Mullaithivu fishermen were dragged around at mid sea in their boats by SLN speed craft last week on 21 July.
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Police action threatens freedom of expression- IFJ

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 July 2004, 12:06 GMT]
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), a global organisation representing over 500,000 journalists worldwide, has today condemned recent actions by the Sri Lankan police threatening freedom of expression in Sri Lanka.
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FMM voices concern over intimidation of journalists

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 July 2004, 10:07 GMT]
In media release distributed in Colombo today the Free Media Movement (FMM) said that it viewed with concern "the police search of the residence of journalist Dharmaratnam Sivaram for the second time in a short period of time," and the statement by the Sri Lanka Government that "Mr. Sivaram will be interrogated on the news item posted on the Tamil Net" to reveal the source of the news. "FMM requests you to halt the tactics of intimidation," added the media release.
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LTTE releases audio CD in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 July 2004, 00:38 GMT]
“ At a time when forces against Tamil unity are conspiring to destroy the Tamil nationalist movement, we have to unite and awaken Tamil national consciousness,” said Mr. K.V. Balakumar, a senior member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, speaking at an event to mark the release of an audio CD by the LTTE in Vavuniya Saturday with a view to raising Tamil national consciousness, sources said.
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Karuna meets with Sri Lankan ministers, US officials- paper

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 July 2004, 00:36 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s tourism minister and brother of President Chandrika Kumaratunga, Mr. Anura Bandaranaike, escorted the renegade LTTE commander, Karuna, to Singapore to address US officials on combating terrorism, The Sunday Leader reported this week, quoting government sources. Another government minister and a close confidante of President Kumaratunga, Mr. Mangala Samaraweera, is to meet with Karuna, the paper also said.
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India turns back TNA MP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 July 2004, 15:41 GMT]
Mr. Eelaventhan, a nominated Tamil National Alliance MP was turned back by Indian immigration authorities Saturday. Indian government officials confirmed that the TNA MP was refused entry to India at the Chennai International Airport Saturday.
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RSF fears for Tamil journalist's safety

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 July 2004, 00:35 GMT]
"A dozen [Sri Lanka] police without a warrant searched the Colombo home of Dharmaretnam Sivaram, editor of the news website TamilNet.com for the second time in three months on 23 July," said Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in a press release published on its website. "Reporters Without Borders deplored the post-midnight raid as unjustified and said it was worried about his safety," the report added.
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Tamils cannot be divided and ruled -TNA

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 July 2004, 08:31 GMT]
"The Sri Lankan state and military are using armed groups to divide and rule Tamil society in Batticaloa. They did it in the past. My people will never fall prey to the machinations of divisive forces because they have made immense sacrifices for the Tamil cause", said Mr. Senathirajah Jeyanandamoorthy, Tamil National Alliance MP for Batticaloa, speaking at a press conference by TNA regarding the current situation in the east.
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Tamil MPs slam SLA, paramilitaries for threats to media

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 July 2004, 14:14 GMT]
“Journalist Nadesan was murdered because the Sri Lankan government did not disarm paramilitary groups working with the military as it agreed to do under the cease-fire agreement. A paramilitary group in Batticaloa killed Nadesan and is threatening other independent journalists with death. This group cannot roam Batticaloa with weapons and intimidate and murder journalists without the military’s permission”, said Mr. Senathirajah Jeyanandamoorthy, Tamil National Alliance MP for Batticaloa speaking Tuesday during a debate in the Sri Lankan Parliament on the state of the media in the island.
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Fall of SLA’s Mullaithivu base remembered

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 July 2004, 03:36 GMT]
The public in Mullaithivu conducted a special rally Sunday to mark the capture eight years ago of the Sri Lanka Army’s Mullaithivu base by the Liberation Tigers, press reports from the North said.
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PTA was big blunder by Tamil politicians - TNA MP

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 July 2004, 16:46 GMT]
“Tamil Parliamentarians committed a great blunder by not opposing the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). It was wrong on our part for not objecting or raising our voices against the draconian bill”, said Mr. Nadarajah Raviraj, Tamil National Alliance MP for Jaffna, speaking Monday at a public meeting in Colombo to mark the 25th anniversary of the PTA and to launch a campaign for its repeal. The meeting was organised at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute in Colombo jointly by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and the Centre for Human Rights and Development (CHRD).
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Dates for parliamentary debate on ISGA to be decided Monday

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 July 2004, 11:32 GMT]
The dates for the three-day debate on the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposal submitted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) last year, will be decided at the Monay meeting of the leaders of political parties represented in the current Sri Lanka parliament, parliamentary sources said.


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Batti-Amparai TNA MPs meet Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 July 2004, 11:22 GMT]
Batticaloa-Amparai Tamil National Alliance parliamentarians met with LTTE Head of Political Wing, S.P.Thamilchelvan in the LTTE Peace Secretariat premises Saturday morning, source in Vanni said. Matters related to currently prevailing situation in Batticaloa district were the focus of the discussions according sources.
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UPFA, UNF draw battle lines to prove Parliamentary majority

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 July 2004, 00:53 GMT]
With three days to go for the next session of parliament, the minority ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and the main opposition United National Front (UNF) are making frenzied efforts to prove their majority. The UNF still claims it has 114 members of the 225 member parliament. But the ruling UPFA says that there would be a dramatic turn in the power struggle in favour of the government after its sweeping victory in the six provincial councils' poll last Saturday, political sources said.


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SL Govt. is preparing for war-Jaffna undergrads

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 July 2004, 15:57 GMT]
''Main aim of the Deputy Defense Minister Mr.Ratnasiri Wickremanayake's visit to Jaffna district was to put the security forces on red alert for another war. His inspection of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) forward defense lines of Muhamalai has proved Sri Lanka government's intention beyond any doubt,'' said the Jaffna University Students Forum (JUSF) in a statement issued to the media today.
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