Civil group plans agitation in NorthEast over Buddha statue

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 June 2005, 11:49 GMT]
Mr.V.Vigneswaran, President of the Trincomalee District Tamil Peoples Forum (TDTPF) Saturday said in a press conference that his organization will begin non-violent direct action after July 10 through out NorthEast if the Sri Lanka government fails to remove the controversial Buddhist statue which was erected close to the Trincomalee central bus stand on 15 May, sources in Trincomalee said.
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SLAF helicopter takes LTTE commanders to Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 June 2005, 13:11 GMT]
Batticaloa-Amparai LTTE military commanders and Head of LTTE's Batticaloa-Amparai Political Wing, Mr. Ilanthirayan, returned to Batticaloa from Kilinochchi in a Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) Helicopter Friday morning, sources in Batticaloa said. LTTE's Batticaloa-Amparai Special Commander Col. Banu, Batticaloa-Amparai Commander Ram, Commander Janarathan of LTTE's armed forces in Amparai and Commander Shanthan of the Jeyanthan Regiment were held up in Kilinochchi for some weeks as Colombo earlier refused to provide transport arrangements.
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Model library opened in Thampalakamam

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 June 2005, 02:25 GMT]
A model library for Potkerni, a village in Thampalakamam in Trincomalee district, funded by the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) and NGO mainly operating in NorthEast, was opened Wednesday morning at 10.30 am, sources said.
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Fasting campaign held in Chavakachcheri

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 June 2005, 11:10 GMT]
First of the series of fasting campaign demanding the establishment of Joint Mechanism structure to rehabilitate and reconstruct the tsunami destroyed coastal areas in the northeast province without further delay was held in Chavakachcheri bus stand Wednesday. Thenmaradchchi Traders' Association organized the event, sources said.
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LTTE's Trincomalee commander returns

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 June 2005, 06:12 GMT]
Commander of the Liberation Tigers' forces in Trincomalee, Col. Sornam, arrived in Sampur in Trincomalee Wednesday at 10.30 AM in a in a SLAF Helicopter facilitated by the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), LTTE officials said.
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Colombo's transport refusal endangers CFA- Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 June 2005, 08:52 GMT]
"Serious crisis has developed over Sri Lanka Government's continuing refusal to provide travel security to our military commanders across Government controlled areas forcing us to plan our own armed escort. We have pointed out to the Norwegian facilitators to urgently seek the response from Colombo on this matter. Failure to resolve this issue will call into question the continued observation of the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA)," said Thamilchelvan in a press briefing to reporters in Kilinochchi, after meeting with Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar and Mr. Wagn Winkel, acting Head of the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Kilinochchi Tuesday morning.
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Profile of a shadow war veteran

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 June 2005, 01:02 GMT]
The veteran intelligence officer, Lieutenant Colonel Nizam Muthaliff, was a central figure in the atrocity-punctuated paramilitary aspects of the counter-insurgency campaign against the LTTE in the early nineties then had a critical role in the deep penetration attacks on LTTE commanders and officials, the Tamil Guardian reported Wednesday.
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Colombo holds key to restore normalcy, says LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 June 2005, 14:51 GMT]
Government of Sri Lanka has a moral responsibility to demonstrate its serious commitment to the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) and its will to maintain the integrity of the CFA by delivering on it in terms of its obligation to restore normalcy, Mr. Thamilchelvan, LTTE's Head of Political Division, told Swiss Ambassador Mr.Bernadino Reggazzoni on Thursday in a meeting in Kilinochchi. LTTE's Political Head expressed fear over the state of the CFA in the context of "fanatical elements" trying to cash in on a volatile situation in Trincomalee and Vavuniya, the LTTE Peace Secretariat website reported.


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LTTE invites donors to Kilinochchi - paper

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 June 2005, 06:24 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers have invited the four major donor agencies - World Bank, ADB JBIC and IMF - to Kilinochchi to discuss the outcome of the international aid conference held in Kandy last month and how future tsunami reconstruction and rehabilitation work could be carried out, the Daily Mirror reported Thursday.
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UNICEF says underage recruitment "very low"

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 May 2005, 13:43 GMT]
Saying UNICEF had seen a "very low level" of underage recruitment by the Liberation Tigers in recent months, the organisation’s outgoing top official in Sri Lanka, Ted Chaiban, Sunday welcomed the development and urged the continuation of "this positive trend." Mr. Chaiban met Sunday LTTE's Head of Political Division, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, his deputy, Mr. S. Thangan and the Director General of the Peace Secretariat, Mr. S. Pulidevan at LTTE's Peace Secretariat in Kilinochchi and discussed the improvement of the lives of people, particularly children, in Sri Lanka's former warzones.
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‘Joint mechanism, trust fund part of peace process’

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 May 2005, 20:37 GMT]
The proposed Joint Mechanism and the Trust Fund for post-tsunami management are part of efforts to resume the Sri Lankan peace process, the European Union’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr. Wouter Wilton, said Wednesday when he met with the Liberation Tigers in Kilinochi.
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LTTE urges UNHCR over refugees in India

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 May 2005, 20:31 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers Wednesday urged the UN's Refugee Agency to take steps to ensure the safe passage of Tamil refugees in India seeking repatriation to their homes in Sri Lanka. The matter was discussed when the Head of the LTTE Political Wing, Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, met with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative in Sri Lanka, Mr. Rajiv Kapur, in Kilinochchi on Wednesday.
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"Horrendous consequences if peace process collapses"- TNA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 May 2005, 10:39 GMT]
"The forces who opposed negotiations with the LTTE are forces committed tocontinuing the present structure of governance in this country, who want a unitary structure of government to continue, who want majority hegemony to continue. If these forces succeed, the peace process must inevitably collapse with all its horrendous consequences," said Mr.R.Sampanthan, parliamentary group leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), in a recent one-day debate on the current state of the peace process, parliamentary sources said.
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Sri Lanka's future in peril, Jaffna editorials say

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 May 2005, 13:32 GMT]
Saturday editorials in Jaffna's popular dailies, Uthayan, Namathu Eelanaadu and Valamapuri, carried ominious messages reflecting an unpredictable and potentially explosive future facing the Tamil people as well as Sri Lanka. Quoting LTTE Head of Political Wing, Thamilchelvan who said recently, "If Sinhala leadership continues to impose majoritarian hegemony on Tamil people without pursuing peaceful solutions to satsify Tamil aspirations, there will soon be an end to this state of affairs," Eelanaadu editorial Saturday said.
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Child soldier figures wrongly quoted- Save the Children

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 May 2005, 07:48 GMT]
Mike Aaronson, Director General of Save the Children UK, in a letter to LTTE's Head of Political Wing, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, expressed regret that the figures for child soldiers including girl soldiers have been "wrongly quoted" in a recent report released by the UK based organisation. The report stated that 50 000 child soldiers, including 21,500 girl soldiers are involved in the conflict in Sri Lanka.
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Donors pledge $3bn, push peace process

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 May 2005, 16:19 GMT]
International donors wrapped up a key conference for Sri Lanka pledging $3bn in aid, but stressing the importance of progress in resolving the island’s protracted ethnic conflict to pave the way for its disbursement, press reports and officials said. The onus is on Sri Lanka’s President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who has promised donors she would overcome Sinhala nationalist opposition to negotiate and sign a joint mechanism with the LTTE, to deliver. But amid escalating Sinhala right wing pressure, Tamil optimism is tempered by deep sceptism
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Foundation laid for Thamileelam National hospital

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 May 2005, 10:13 GMT]
Foundation stone for the Tamil Eelam National Hospital was laid at Iranaimadu in Kilinochchi, Sunday morning. Dr.Gangatharan laid the first foundation stone followed by Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, the Head of the Political Wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
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Breakdown in JM negotiations will be a major blow- Akashi

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 May 2005, 21:15 GMT]
Expressing Japan's frustration in the delay in forging permanent peace in Sri Lanka, Japanese peace envoy Yakushi Akashi, turning his attention the aid deal for post-tsunami development said, "The breakdown of negotiations on the Joint Mechanism will be a major blow to all concerned specially to Sri Lankan people who have every right to expect...assistance from abroad...but we must find alternative means for aid delivery." Mr Akashi talked to the reporter in Colombo after meeting S P Thamilchelvan, Head of LTTE political wing Saturday morning.
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Akashi meets Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 May 2005, 10:01 GMT]
The Japanese special peace envoy Mr.Yasushi Akashi met with the Head of the Political Wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) S.P. Thamilchelvan at LTTE's Peace Secretariat building in Kilinochchi, Saturday.
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Lack of normalcy eclipsed by joint mechanism debate - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 May 2005, 13:26 GMT]
The serious lack of normalcy in the Tamil areas due to continuing military occupation and restrictions on civilians’ livelihoods, even three years after the mutual ceasefire agreement was signed, is leading to severe frustrations amongst the people, the head of the Liberation Tiger’s political wing, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan told Norwegian diplomats Friday. The extraordinary focus on a post-tsunami aid management mechanism is masking the severity of the obstructions to rehabilitation work and the day-to-day difficulties faced by ordinary people, Mr. Thamilchelvan told Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr. Hans Brattskar, when they met in Kilinochchi.
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