Two SLA soldiers injured in grenade attack in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 June 2006, 05:13 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were injured when unidentified men lobbed a grenade at a sentry post at Bharathipuram, a suburb of Trincomalee town, aroun 8 a.m., Tuesday morning, police sources said.
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LTTE delegation arrives in Switzerland

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 June 2006, 02:47 GMT]
More than two hundred Swiss Tamils carrying Tamileelam National flag and flags of their adopted country Switzerland, welcomed the Liberation Tigers delegation at the Zurich Airport at 7:45 p.m. Sunday, Tamil sources in Swiss capital said. The LTTE delegation completed discussions with the Norwegian facilitators and with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Friday and met with the LTTE's Constitutional Affairs Committee Saturday. The non-cabinet level Sri Lanka delegation left Oslo mid-day Thursday after refusing to meet with a similar level group from the LTTE delegation.
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Agitation planned across Tamil Nadu districts against Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 June 2006, 14:07 GMT]
Tamileelam Supporters' Co-ordination Committee (TSCC), based in Myloapore, Chennai, in a communique issued Sunday said that wide spread protests being organized in Chennai and other capitals of Tamil Nadu districts on 16 June calling all parties to join hands to condemn the attacks by the "Sinhala army on Eelam Tamils," and to raise voices exposing the plight of the Tamil refugees fleeing the NorthEast seeking sanctuary in Tamil Nadu.
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LTTE issues Communiqué in Oslo

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 June 2006, 15:24 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam issued a Communiqué on Friday after concluding meetings begun two days ago with Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and the Norwegian facilitators in Oslo.
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Talking peace will not win us back Tamil Homeland - TNA MP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 June 2006, 10:34 GMT]
"Students have been active in the past independently and individually in the struggle for liberation. Pon. Sivakumaran was the pioneer in this struggle which continues with the participation of thousands of students until today. Peace talks will not redeem our lost nation, we can only win the Tamil homeland by the active engagement in the struggle by all people," said P. Ariyanethiran, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Batticaloa District Parliamentarian Tuesday participating as the special guest in the 32nd Student Uprising Day celebration held at Karadiayanaru in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Territory in the Batticaloa district.


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Impromptu rally as UK hunger strike ends

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 June 2006, 09:08 GMT]
Almost a thousand Tamils gathered in front of Britain’s Houses of Parliament as Thaya Idaikader, who had been staging a hunger strike since midday Friday prepared to end it, after his scheduled 101 hours. Begun as a one-man protest against the international community’s refusal to compel Sri Lanka’s government to halt atrocities against Tamil civilians, Idaikader’s protest struck a chord with the wider Tamil community in Britain and in many other Diaspora centres around the world.
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Thileepan Hospitals serve Muttur displaced Tamils

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 June 2006, 16:00 GMT]
The medical needs of about fifty thousand people residing in LTTE-held villages in the Muttur east, Eachchilampathu division in the Trincomalee district and Vaharai division in the Batticaloa district are being looked after by Thileepan Medical Hospitals located in Pattalipuram, Valaithoddam and Kathiraveli, which are manned by medical officers from the Thamileelam Medical College, said Mr. S. Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
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EU ban, one-sided and counterproductive - Balasingham

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 June 2006, 09:25 GMT]
The EU ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), is "extremely harsh, unfair, untimely and one-sided unlike the Donor Co-chairs declaration," LTTE’s Chief Negotiator and Political Ideologue, Mr. Anton Balasingham, has told the Colombo based weekly, The Sunday Times. It is a "misguided strategy," to assume that international proscriptions will "encourage" the penalised organisations to pursue the road maps and guidelines prescribed by the international actors, Mr. Balasingam said adding that the "anti-terrorist age," ban on the Tigers, ignoring the political context, historical background, was counterproductive and created serious obstacle to productive engagement.
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With a little help from his friends

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 June 2006, 01:17 GMT]
Whilst there has been dismay amongst the Tamils over the international community’s reluctance to condemn unabashed abuses by Sri Lanka’s security’s forces, one man has decided to take matters into his own hands.
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US: Tigers have ‘legitimate goals, unacceptable methods’

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 June 2006, 00:48 GMT]
Reiterating the United States’ opposition to the Liberation Tigers’ use of arms, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Richard Boucher, also said the US recognises the Tamils’ “legitimate desire … to govern themselves in their own homeland.” Furthermore, “they (Tigers) need to focus their vision on how to achieve their legitimate goals through a legitimate process of negotiation [rather than arms],” he said.


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EU ban ‘will radically transform’ Sri Lanka’s conflict - paper

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 June 2006, 12:40 GMT]
The European Union's decision to proscribe the Liberation Tigers "sends an unambiguous message to all Sri Lankans that, when all is said and done, President Mahinda Rajapakse is being backed by the international community against the LTTE," the Tamil Guardian newspaper said in its editorial this week. Amid a slide to war, the EU move has "left the Tamils isolated and confronting the Sri Lankan state" and this will thus "radically transform the long-term strategies of both protagonists," the paper argued.
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Alarming increase in arrests of Muttur youths- TNA MP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 June 2006, 12:20 GMT]
Mr.K.Thurairatnasingham, Trincomalee district parliamentarian Saturday expressed concern over the increase in the number of arrests of Tamil youths by the security forces in Muttur division in the Sri Lanka government controlled territory, sources said. "Nefarious elements assisted by supporters of Sri Lanka Government are trying to create rift between Muslims and Tamils residing in Muttur town by publishing anonymous pamphlets," said Mr.Thurairatnasingham in a statement released Saturday on the tense situation prevailing in Muttur town.
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Tigers request diplomatic travel arrangements for Oslo meet

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 June 2006, 11:27 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers (LTTE) have agreed, in principle, to participate in discussions in Oslo this month with the Norwegian facilitator responsible for coordinating and facilitating the Scandinavian truce monitoring mission, the SLMM. "The timely participation is dependent on travel arrangements with diplomatic privileges being made available to the LTTE delegation through Sri Lanka's territory," LTTE Political Head told media in Kilinochchi Thursday.
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Sri Lankan Government must make dramatic political changes - Co-chairs

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 May 2006, 09:05 GMT]
The Government of Sri Lanka must show that it will address the legitamate grievances of the Tamils and the Tamil Tigers must re-enter the negotiating process, renounce terrorism and violence, said Co-Chairs of the Tokyo Donor Conference. Colombo must immediately prevent groups based in its territory from carrying out violence and acts of terrorism. It must protect the rights and security of Tamils, ensure violators are prosecuted and must show that it is ready to make the dramatic political changes to bring about a new system of governance. The international community will support such steps; failure to take such steps will diminish international support, said the strong worded statement.
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Toronto protest draws the largest crowd despite a transit strike

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 May 2006, 07:09 GMT]
Tens of thousands of Canadian Tamils thronged Mel Lastman Square in Toronto Canada Monday inspite of a transit strike in the city to protest against the human rights abuses committed by the Government of Sri Lanka against their relatives in the North and East. The rally in Toronto was the largest of in worldwide demonstrations that were held simultaneously from New Zealand to Canada. The larger venue overflowed and the people stayed on adjoining streets.
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Canadian Tamils join global protest against EU ban

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 May 2006, 02:56 GMT]
On the Tamil Diaspora's day of solidarity around the world, more than 4,000 Canadian Tamils stood in front of the federal parliament in Ottawa Monday to protest against the European Union ban of Liberation Tigers, and to condemn the killing of Tamil civilians by the Sri Lanka security forces. Four parliamentarians addressed the crowd, including a member of the governing party. All parliamentarians expressed their solidarity with the Tamil cause, and one of them promised to raise the Tamil issue in the House.


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Germany draws record crowd to protest against EU ban

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 May 2006, 23:15 GMT]
Around five thousand German Tamils rallied at the grounds opposite the Railway Station in Düsseldorf Monday at 11:45 a.m., and marched via the offices of Canadian Embassy, British Embassy and the European Union, and reached the Düsseldorf parliament around 12:50. Appeals were handed over to the embassy officials and to the officials at the Parliament.
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South African Tamils join protest against EU ban

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 May 2006, 21:49 GMT]
Hundreds of Tamils braved the cold winter evening in Durban South Africa to joined in solidarity with fellow Tamils across the world Monday to voice their objection to the impending ban of Liberation Tigers by the European Union. The protest demonstration was held at the Magazine Barracks Temple, Durban was organized by the Tamil Co-ordinating committee of South Africa.
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3000 Tamils rally in Bern, Switzerland, braving rain

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 May 2006, 18:08 GMT]
The European Union (EU) move to ban Liberation Tigers, despite the continued killings of Tamil activists and civilians, is unjust, said Julia Jean Marie, a French professor, addressing the Tamil rally held in front of the Swiss Parliament in Bern. "Tamil struggle has overcome many hurdles. The NorthEast has matured into a state, and with its able leadership will succeed in overcoming all obstacles standing in their way to achieve their goal of right to self-rule," said Professor Julia Jean Marie, in fluent Tamil, in Bern where more than 3000 Tamils gathered from 13:45 p.m till 15:35 p.m., Monday.
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Dutch Tamils protest in Hague

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 May 2006, 17:44 GMT]
More than 600 Tamils from across Netherlands gathered in front of the Twedekamer, the Netherlands parliament, in the Hague, the political capital of the Netherlands from 11:45 a.m. till 2:00 p.m. Monday. The leader of the Tamil - Dutch soiidarity group, Savarimuttu Mahendran, talking to media said the Netherlands, once a colonial ruler of Tamil kingdom in the island of Sri Lanka, having a historic knowledge of Tamils sovereign rights, and ruled the Tamil kingdom separately as a nation, should come forward to help the Tamils re-establish their rights.
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