General shut down paralyses Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 October 2004, 07:52 GMT]
The entire Trincomalee town except few settlements where Sinhalese live in majority was paralysed Friday when Tamils and Muslims observed a general shut down (‘hartal’) responding to the call of the Trincomalee Tamil People’s Forum (TTPF). The ‘hartal’ is organised to express opposition to construction of new Buddhist shrines (vihares) and Sinhala settlements in traditional Tamil villages in the Trincomalee district after the ceasefire came into operation about two and half years ago and chauvinist elements making Trincomalee a centre for their racist activities, organisers said.
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Tamil Women's Uprising Day celebrations begin in Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 October 2004, 01:35 GMT]
Tamil Womens' Uprising Day celebrations and 17th year memorial of 2nd Lt Malathy began at 9am Wednesday at the Kilinochchi Central play grounds, sources in Vanni said. Deputy Director of Heros Memorial, Ms Thamil Arasi, presided the event.
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Mannar Police arrest four for building LTTE memorial

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 October 2004, 16:12 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police Thursday night arrested four workers who were constructing a memorial in Mannar town for 'Victor'(Mr.Marcelin Fuselus), a senior commander of the Liberation Tigers who was killed in battle with the Sri Lanka army in 1986. The masons and their assistants were arrested when they were starting work on the memorial at the roundabout in Bazaar Street in the heart of Mannar town around 7.30 p.m. Sri Lanka army and Police stepped up patrols and deployed more troops in the town following the arrest.
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Trincomalee to observe general shut down Friday

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 October 2004, 00:15 GMT]
Trincomalee Tamil Peoples' Forum (TTPF) Wednesday issued a statement appealing to Tamil speaking people of the port district to observe general shutdown (hartal) on Friday, 8 October, in support of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and to urge the international community including United States of America (USA) to exert pressure on the Sinhala political parties to take steps to restart the peace process.


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Resettled Muslims oppose Jaffna SLMC meet

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 October 2004, 16:23 GMT]
''Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) high command's decision to hold its public meeting in Jaffna would create rift between Tamils and Muslim who now live in cordial atmosphere,'' said a statement released in Jaffna Wednesday by the resettled internally displaced Muslim families, civil sources in Jaffna said.
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Peace Council will exacerbate contradictions- paper

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 October 2004, 11:04 GMT]
"Sri Lanka President Ms Kumaratunge's tactic to show that the peace process is being continued, while avoiding talks with the LTTE will only exacerbate contradictions among the southern political parties and will not create consensus," said Thinakkural, a popular Tamil daily published in Colombo in its editorial today.
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SLA, LTTE meet again in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 October 2004, 04:59 GMT]
Sri Lankan armed forces met the Liberation Tigers Wednesday in Batticaloa to discuss the implementation of the cease fire agreement in the districts of Batticaloa and Amparai. The LTTE delegation was led by Mr. S. Marshall, head of the Tigers' headquarters branch for Batticaloa-Amparai. Sri Lankan armed forces delegation was led by Col. A. L Amaratunga, commander of 23-3 Brigade in Batticaloa. Continuing killings and the activities of paramilitaries in the eastern district were discussed at the meeting.
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ICRC, Rights Experts meet LTTE delegation, NESOHR in Geneva

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 October 2004, 03:46 GMT]
A five member International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) team and another team of Swiss based Human Rights experts met with the Constitutional Affairs Committee of the LTTE and with NorthEast Secretariat on Human Rights (NESOHR) team in Geneva Tuesday. Later in the day, Human Rights lawyer Ms Karen Parker, conducted a session to the NESOHR members on Geneva Conventions on Human Rights as applied to post conflict situation, sources in Geneva said.
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U.S Courts to hear case against Anti-terrorism Law

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 October 2004, 01:00 GMT]
The Ninth Circuit Court in California is scheduled to hear an oral argument against a provision of the Antiterrorism and Death Penalty Act on 14 December in Pasadena, legal sources said. The law suit was filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) in the U.S. District Court in March 1998 on behalf of eight plaintiffs including the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
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Re-examine stand on Home guards, SLMM tells LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 October 2004, 00:03 GMT]
While saying that "there is no logic" to the demand of Liberation Tigers to release ten LTTE cadres arrested by Government of Sri Lanka nearly a year ago in exchange for the release of two homeguards is unreasonable the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission in a press release said that a Trincomalee organization engaged in "irresponsible behavior" and is trying to discredit the SLMM.
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'Will defeat Colombo's international safety net'- LTTE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 October 2004, 18:03 GMT]
''The Sinhala state is trying to weave an international safety net against Tamils. Our political action committe is explaining the legitimacy of our struggle to the international community to defeat such machinations of the Sinhala state. We will never allow Sinhala nationalists or thier allies to defeat our struggle. The Sri Lankan President is not sincere about the peace process'', said Mr. C. Ilamparithy, head of LTTE's political division for Jaffna Tuesday evening.
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Helgessen meets LTTE delegation in Geneva

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 October 2004, 03:18 GMT]
Deputy Foreign Minister of Norway, Mr. Vidar Helgessen, briefed members of Constitutional Affairs Committee of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and officials of the NorthEast Secretariat on Human Rights (NESOHR) in Geneva Monday, sources from Geneva said.
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Development needs of Kopay electorate spotlighted

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 October 2004, 02:33 GMT]
Mr.Suresh Premachchandran, Jaffna district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, Monday held a conference in his office and discussed the problems affecting the development of Kopay electorate in Jaffna district. About seventy representatives of civil organizations from 31village level divisions (Grama Sevaka) in the electorate attended the discussion, sources said.
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UNF, TNA, JHU boycott SL President's Council on Peace

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 October 2004, 01:58 GMT]
United National Front (UNF), Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) boycotted the event as Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga inaugurated the National Advisory Council on Peace and Reconciliation (NACPR) Monday afternoon in Colombo. NAC has been publicized by the Sri Lanka Government as a mechanism to seek "wide spectrum of views" to resolve the ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka.
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Drug dealers, Police said instigating religious strife in Mannar

[TamilNet, Monday, 04 October 2004, 12:20 GMT]
“Our office in Mannar town was attacked with the backing of the Sri Lanka Police. It appears to have been well premeditated. Some anti-social elements here that are opposed to our campaign to rid of Mannar of drugs want to attack us and hinder us. They are using religion to divide the community so that they can continue their nefarious activities without any hindrance. We will not rise to the communal bait. Mannar, as you know, has become a major transit point for drugs. We want to stop this”, said Mr. S. Iniyavan, head of the LTTE's political division for Mannar, speaking to TamilNet Monday.
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Human Rights experts meet NESHOR delegation in Geneva

[TamilNet, Monday, 04 October 2004, 11:07 GMT]
Ian Martin, the former Secretary General of Amnesty International, and special envoy to monitor Human rights dimension in Sri Lanka and Pascale Bariswyl, a swiss human rights expert addressed the members of the NorthEast Secretariat on Human Rights (NESHOR) in a meeting in Geneva Monday.
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TNA rejects joining SL President's Advisory Council for Peace

[TamilNet, Monday, 04 October 2004, 10:42 GMT]
"It is our considered view that if the government takes clear and courageous action to recommence the negotiations, which the Government's has hitherto to failed do, the peace process can be taken forward... We would strongly urge you to implement what you enunciated at the meeting with the TNA parliamentary group on 10th June," Mr.R.Sampanthan, Tamil National Alliance parliamentary group leader said in a letter to Sri Lanka's President Ms Kumaratunge officially informing the TNA's decision of rejecting her invitation to attend the National Advisory Council for Peace and Reconciliation.
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Suspected Karuna associates kill civilian

[TamilNet, Monday, 04 October 2004, 10:00 GMT]
A civilian was shot dead by gunmen suspected to members of the paramilitary lead by renegade Liberation Tigers commander ‘Karuna’ Sunday night around 8 in Omadiyamadu, an interior village near the Batticaloa-Polannaruwa district border, Police said. The man was identified as Mr. Vannamani Dharmarajah, 40. Valaichenai Police said that they had no further details of the person.


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Solheim addresses LTTE meeting in Geneva

[TamilNet, Sunday, 03 October 2004, 18:40 GMT]
Norwegian special peace envoy Mr. Erik Solheim Sunday addressed the LTTE Constitutional Affairs Committee meeting in Geneva during its third day sessions, sources in Geneva said.
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Women's "Coming Together" event held in Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Sunday, 03 October 2004, 11:27 GMT]
A "Confluence" of Tamil Eelam Women Associations, Sangamam, was held in Kilinochchi Cultural Hall Thursday where more than 650 women activists from all regions of Kilinochchi took part, sources in Vanni said. Kilinochchi district LTTE Head of Women's Political Wing, Poovili presided the event.
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