Police file plaint on Anandasangaree complaint

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 March 2004, 16:12 GMT]
The Jaffna Police Wednesday filed a plaint in the Chavakachcheri Magistrate’s Court on a complaint made by Mr. Veerasingham Anandasangaree that a group of persons had attacked his supporters when they were campaigning on March 11, legal sources said.


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TNA leaders address election rally in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 March 2004, 14:36 GMT]
General Secretary of the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK) Mr. Mavai Senathirajah addressing an election rally in Trincomalee Tuesday evening said, "Tamils have got a historic opportunity in their freedom struggle to show their unity. Tamils must support the joint effort of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to find a lasting political solution to the Tamil national question based on the interim self governing authority (ISGA) proposals."
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Karuna’s revolt is 'temporary aberration' - Balasingham

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 March 2004, 08:43 GMT]
The rebellion by the LTTE’s former Batticaloa-Amparai commander is “not a major politico-military crisis in the LTTE,” the movement’s theoretician and chief negotiator, Mr. Anton Balasingham, said this week in his first public comment on the estrangement between Mr. V. Muraleetharan (Karuna) and the LTTE leadership. In a wide-ranging interview with the London based Tamil Guardian newspaper, Mr. Balasingham said “Karuna’s dissent would not seriously undermine the peace process or the Tamil national struggle.”
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Empower TNA to decide next government, Sampanthan tells voters

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 March 2004, 11:36 GMT]
"Tamils are in the verge of achieving their legitimate rights after several years of freedom struggle through the military might of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Hence it is the duty of Tamils to strengthen the hands of LTTE by sending at least twenty-one Tamil National Alliance parliamentarians thus making the TNA as a force to decide the future government," said Mr.R.Sampanthan, TNA leader and the TNA lead candidate for Trincomalee district when addressing a series of election meetings in the LTTE held area villages in Muttur east and Eachilampathu division Sunday evening.


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Ensure franchise to Tamil voters, TNA tells Cushnahan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 March 2004, 11:21 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader Mr.R.Sampanthan has appealed to the European Parliament member Mr.John Walls Cushnahan to take immediate steps to ensure that voters in Liberation Tigers held areas in the northeast province to exercise their franchise freely and without any restriction in the polling stations located in no man zones in the forthcoming general election, sources said.
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Karuna Group eyes cabinet portfolio

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 March 2004, 06:28 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance candidates in Batticaloa who might be elected in the April polls to Sri Lanka’s Parliament should be ready to work with the government that comes to power in Colombo, according to instructions issued Monday by the Karuna Group to Tamil politicians in the troubled eastern district, sources said. One of the TNA MPs elected from Batticaloa would be given a cabinet portfolio, according to Mr. Rajan Sathiyamoorthy, a TNA candidate who is a confidante of Mr. V. Muraleetharan, the leader of the Karuna Group.
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TNA concludes election campaign in LTTE held Trinco villages

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 March 2004, 16:55 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) concluded its four-day first phase of campaign in the Liberation Tigers held Muttur east and Eachilampathu villages in Trincomalee district Monday. TNA candidates contesting the Trincomalee electoral district in the forthcoming general election led by their lead candidate and TULF Secretary General Mr.R.Sampanthan began their campaign Friday visiting several remote villages and addressed pocket meetings, sources said.


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"Denial of franchise will damage peace process"- TNA

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 March 2004, 14:46 GMT]
"Denial of franchise to Tamil voters residing in the Liberation Tigers held areas in the northeast province in the forthcoming general election will have serious impact on the current peace process," Mr.R.Sampanthan, leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Secretary General of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) told the Norwegian special peace envoy Mr. Erik Solheim during a discussion with the latter at the Norwegian embassy Monday morning, sources said.
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Jaffna university students to canvass for TNA

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 March 2004, 17:31 GMT]
The Jaffna University Students Union announced Saturday that it will campaign in support of the Tamil National Alliance. A students’ spokesman told TamilNet the Union decided to take the unprecedented step “to fight against the divisive forces that are threatening the Tamil people’s political future and well being today”.


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TNA unveils new campaign strategy

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 March 2004, 17:29 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance candidates from Jaffna will canvass support for their colleagues contesting the April polls in the east while TNA candidates from the east will campaign in the north for the victory of the alliance, Mr. Mavai Senathirajah, the general secretary of the Federal Party, said Saturday.
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Sri Lanka election violence on the increase

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 March 2004, 00:49 GMT]
The Police Election Secretariat said Saturday that it receives daily at least ten complaints related to election violence from political parties. From February 17, the first day political parties started submitting their nomination list at the district election offices, until this Friday the Election Secretariat has received 373 complaints, Police sources said.


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Solheim to meet Sampanthan Monday

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 March 2004, 15:38 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader and the Secretary General of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) Mr.R.Sampanthan will brief the Norwegian special peace envoy Mr. Erik Solheim on Monday morning in Colombo on the ground situation of the northeast province, TNA sources said.


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Pocket meetings, seminars dominate TNA Trinco campaign

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 March 2004, 15:26 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) candidates led by the lead candidate Mr.R.Sampanthan began addressing election seminars and pocket meetings in the areas held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam since Friday, as TNA's campaign efforts swung into full gear, political sources in Trincomalee said.
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Election verdict should legitimize ISGA demand - Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 March 2004, 15:12 GMT]
The verdict of the Tamils in the forthcoming general election should legitimize the demand of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for an Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) for the northeast province. All tamil speaking people must support the Tamil National Alliance to capture maximum number of parliamentary seats," said Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader, Mr.R.Sampanthan, addressing an election meeting in Division No 10 in the Trincomalee town held Thursday evening.
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"We solidly support leader Pirapaharan"- Thilak tells Solheim

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 March 2004, 08:19 GMT]
"We are solidly supporting the leadership of Mr.V.Pirapaharan. We are against dividing Tamils by north and east", Mr.S.Thilak, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Friday categorically told Norwegian special peace envoy Mr. Erik Solheim during a discussion held Friday morning at the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission office in Trincomalee town.
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TNA condemns State media for false reporting

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 March 2004, 18:19 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader Mr.R.Sampanthan Thursday in a statement condemned the officials responsible, including the Minister for Media, Lakshman Kadirgamar, for carrying false news in State media, political sources said.
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Rupavahini blamed for falsifying report

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 March 2004, 11:24 GMT]
Amparai district former Tamil National Alliance (TNA)parliamentarian Mr. A.Chandra Nehru Thursday issued a statement denying a report carried by State controlled Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) saying that he participated in a demonstration burning the effigy of LTTE leader Mr.Pirapaharan, sources in Amparai 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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"Vote to express sole representative status of LTTE" - Poet

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 March 2004, 17:18 GMT]
Head of the Arts and Cultural Department of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Poet, Puthuvai Ratnathurai, Tuesday speaking at a film release event said, "The forthcoming general election is a crucial one in the liberation struggle of Tamils. I appeal to Tamils to vote for the Tamil National Alliance. The international community are keen to see if Tamils are fully supporting the LTTE and its interim self governing authority proposals," said Mr.Puthuvai Ratnathurai.
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Peace delegation from Batticaloa to resolve Karuna crisis

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 March 2004, 02:40 GMT]
A delegation of religious and civil society leaders of Batticaloa, led by Bishop Rt. Rev. Kingsley Swampillai and Vice Chancellor of the Eastern University, Dr. S. Raveendranath, will leave for Vanni Monday to hold discussions with the Liberation Tigers' leadership to peacefully handle the problem of renegade LTTE commander, Mr. Karuna, a senior LTTE official in Batticaloa told TamilNet Sunday night.
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