Jaffna postal votes cast, said historic low

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 November 2005, 11:46 GMT]
Election officials at the Jaffna Secretariat said that less than 10% of those applied for postal voting cast their votes when the first day of postal voting completed on Monday. Although there is expected to be voting in some centers tomorrow, the election officials added that the numbers voted present a historic low for the district.
Full story >>

Explain clandestine acts against Tamils, UPF asks UNP

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 November 2005, 11:04 GMT]
"If the United National Party (UNP) has plans to undermine the NorthEast struggle by using paramilitaries or by inviting foreign military forces, then Upcountry Peoples Front (UPF) will not only withdraw its support to the UNP but will work against its candidate in the forthcoming presidential elections," said Periyasamy Chandrasekaran, leader of UPF, in a media release issued in Colombo Monday.
Full story >>

LTTE senior leader Major Ganesh remembered

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 November 2005, 16:21 GMT]
Nineteenth death anniversary of Major Ganesh, senior leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), was observed in Muttur east Saturday at the Major Ganesh mausoleum located in the heart of Kaddaiparichchan, now renamed Ganeshapuram in the memory of LTTE leader. Mr.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head participated as the chief guest.
Full story >>

Realignment of Sinhala Nationalist forces spells trouble for SL Peace- Gajendrakumar

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 November 2005, 00:05 GMT]
"Radicalisation of Sri Lanka polity resulting in the realignment of Sinhala Nationalist forces as witnessed by the new coalitions formed for Sri Lanka's presidential elections, raises the spectre of nationlist politics of the 50s and is leading towards imminent collapse of the peace process," said Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, addressing a forum on Sri Lanka's Peace prospects, held in Washington D.C Friday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Full story >>

Voting decision rests with Tamil people- Ilamparithi

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 November 2005, 23:55 GMT]
Mr.C.Ilampartithi, Jaffna district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said Friday that his organization has not taken any decision regarding the forthcoming presidential poll. "LTTE will not exert any pressure on Tamils on this issue," said Mr.Ilamparithi answering a question at a press briefing held in Jaffna district political office, which is, now located in LTTE controlled Pallai area.


Full story >>

"Birds of a feather"

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 November 2005, 12:53 GMT]
Commenting on the lack of enthusiasm amongst Sri Lanka’s Tamils for the forthcoming Presidential elections, the Tamil Guardian newspaper this week argued that the two leading contenders are, from a Tamil perspective, indistinguishable. “Advocates of peace alarmed by [Mahinda] Rajapakse’s unabashed Sinhala nationalism have rushed to pin their hopes on [Ranil] Wickremesinghe without seriously examining his policies and, above all, the practicality of his strategy,” the Diaspora broadsheet said.
Full story >>

SLA restricts civilian travel to Muttur east

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 November 2005, 17:42 GMT]
Civilians entering the Liberation Tigers controlled Muttur east territory in the Trincomalee district are now subjected to severe checking and interrogation by soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) manning the Kaddaiparichchan army camp checkpoint located on the border of the SLA and LTTE controlled areas. The defense establishment since last week has imposed this new security alert. In several instances civilians going to Muttur east were refused entry, sources said.


Full story >>

LTTE encourages Muslim resettlement in Jaffna- Moulavi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 November 2005, 11:54 GMT]
Moulavi L.Shakil, Secretary of the Muslim Peoples' Office in Jaffna, Tuesday said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has been extending full support for the displaced Muslims to resettle in the Jaffna district. "Some sinister forces are spreading unfounded allegation in the South that LTTE is obstructing resettlement," said Moulavi Shakil addressing a press conference at his office located along Navalar Road in Jaffna town Tuesday.
Full story >>

Thamotheram, social activist, passes away

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 November 2005, 02:39 GMT]
Mr C J T Thamotheram, social activist and an expatriate doyen of Tamils in England, passed away on Thursday. Son of Mr CP Thamotheram who was a principal at Hartley College (1915 - 1943), CJT Thamotheram was a student and teacher at Hartley College, Point Pedro, and later teacher at Latymer Upper School in U.K.
Full story >>

The LTTE’s New Concept- Confederation: Taraki

[TamilNet, Monday, 31 October 2005, 04:41 GMT]
In the 31st July 1991 issue of Sri Lanka's English daily, Island International, popular journalist and military analyst, late Dharmeratnam Sivaram, portrays the 1991 battle of Elephant Pass as demonatrating the LTTE's capability as a conventional army and predicts how this emergent force will dictate the trajectory of Sri Lanka's war.
Full story >>

NPC urges NorthEast Tamils to vote

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 October 2005, 12:26 GMT]
Media Director of the Sri Lanka National Peace Council (NPC), Dr.Jehan Perera, Saturday appealed to the Tamil people vote for a candidate who could promote peaceful political solution to the ethnic problem and not to boycott the presidential election. He was addressing a seminar on "North-South Dialogue for Rebuilding of Sri Lankan Democratic Institutions," held at the Media Research and Training Centre of the Jaffna University.
Full story >>

Confrontation avoided as SLA lifts Thandikulam travel restrictions

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 October 2005, 02:55 GMT]
Tension between Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers manning the Thandikulam checkpoint and civilian escalated Friday as SLA soldiers blocked attendees to the Vavuniay Resurgence Convention to travel north into Vanni and youths who were prevented from attending the convention setup blockade across A9 north of SLA checkpoint, passengers affected by the blockade said.
Full story >>

Resurgence event emphasizes Vavuniya Declaration, urges EU to reconsider stand

[TamilNet, Thursday, 27 October 2005, 18:04 GMT]
Thousands of people gathered in Vavuniya Urban Council grounds Thursday at 3:30 p.m. to reaffirm July 27 Vavuniya Declaration. Tamil National Alliance parliamentarians, academics, religious leaders and social activists attended the event which also urged the European Union to reconsider its stand on travel restrictions on Liberation Tigers officials on visiting EU member states. Vavuniya was the venue of the initial Tamil National Resurgence Conference that proclaimed that an environment must be created to enable Tamils to decide their political destiny calling for the Sri Lankan Armed forces to vacate the land and seas of NorthEast.
Full story >>

"Ignore Sri Lankan elections," says Students Association in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 27 October 2005, 14:33 GMT]
In an appeal to the Tamil people, the Students’ Association of Higher Educational Institutions, Jaffna District, has warned Tamil voters not to be "hoodwinked" by promises of the Sri Lankan Presidential candidates. The organisation has argued that a Tamil vote would imply that the Tamils still trust the Sinhala leaders to resolve the Tamil conflict. In an appeal issued Thursday evening from Jaffna, the Students Association asked Tamils to be wary of the election promises the candidates are making from their election propaganda platforms.
Full story >>

CitiHope, first recipient of TRO-USA's Katrina fund

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 October 2005, 02:27 GMT]
CitiHope International, an Andes, New York, based humanitarian relief and development service agency is the first recipient of Katrina relief donation from the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO-USA), President Dr Ranjithan told TamilNet. "We chose CitiHope, as members of TRO's Board of Directors have noted its impressive work in Sri Lanka's tsunami effort and also the organization has a low, less than 1%, operational overhead," Dr Ranjithan said.
Full story >>

Thousands to attend rally near EU Secretariat in Brussels

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 October 2005, 20:59 GMT]
Thousands of diaspora Tamils in Europe are expected to participate in Eluthamil (Tamil uprising) rally near the European Union (EU) Secretariat Monday noon "to express solidarity with the Tamil people in NorthEast homeland in their search for peace with justice, and to urge EU to recognize Tamils right to self-determination and not to impose unilateral punitive measures on Tamils' only politico-military force, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam," according to organizers. More than 150 coaches will transport around 10,000 participants from European countries, mainly from Germany, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands, to Brussels, Belgium on Monday for the rally, organizers added.
Full story >>

Swiss Tamils organize Heroes Day Elocution Contest

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 October 2005, 13:25 GMT]
Students of Tamil schools in Switzerland will compete in a country wide elecution contest organized by Education Service Unit of Tamils to commemorate the Heroes Day. Organizers have selected the topics related to Tamil History and Culture for students competing in eight different age groups. Regional winners will compete in the finals to held in Zurich on 20 November, organizers said.
Full story >>

Trincomalee Declaration demands SL troops to vacate NorthEast

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 October 2005, 08:28 GMT]
Tamil speaking people in large numbers from north, west and south of the Trincomalee district attended the Tamil National Resurgence Convention held Saturday morning in the Playground located along the Inner Harbour Road in the east port city which is controlled by the Sri Lanka Army. Co-ordinating Committee of the Tamil national Resurgence in Trincomalee District, in the declaration, demanded the Sri Lanka troops to vacate the NorthEast land and seas and declared that the rally "demonstrates to the international community the thirst for freedom of the Tamil nation."
Full story >>

Jaffna daily assails "Mahinda Doctrine"

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 October 2005, 11:39 GMT]
Mr Mahinda Rajapakse has brought the Sinhala approach to resolving the Tamil National question a full circle by rejecting the concepts of Tamil home land, right to self determination, federal solution, and the P-TOMS, and re-affirming Tamils belief that the Sinhala south is incapable of shedding the chauvinist mindset, said the editorial of the popular Jaffna Tamil daily 'Uthayan' in its Thursday edition.
Full story >>

Norwegian Tamils march for peace

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 October 2005, 19:41 GMT]
More than one thousand Norwegian Tamils participated in a march carrying torches in the Norwegian capital Oslo Thursday evening. The demonstration, organised by a task group of ten Norwegian Tamil organisations and held in "Pongu Thamil" fashion, urged Norway to promote neutrality in the Sri Lankan peace process that has attracted the attention and involvement of several members of the International community.
Full story >>