Akashi to meet Thamilchelvan in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 February 2005, 09:55 GMT]
Japan's special peace envoy to Sri Lanka, Mr. Yasushi Akashi, will meet head of Liberation Tigers' politicial division, Mr. S. P Thamilchelvan, Saturday in Kokkaddicholai, 15 kilometres southwest of Batticaloa town, Japanese sources in Colombo said. Mr. Akashi will discuss Tsunami relief work and aid in the northeast and the current state of the island's long stalled peace process when he meets Mr. Thamilchelvan in the LTTE held region.
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Thamilchelvan slams Colombo for Kousalyan's slaying

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 February 2005, 14:35 GMT]
"The cowardly act of the Sri Lankan government has taken away Kousalyan and his colleagues from us. Kousalyan came back to Batticaloa with many dreams. He came back with ambitious plans to rebuild this land, devastated by the Tsunami and impoverished by the war imposed by the Sinhala chauvinist state", said Mr. S. P Thamilchelvan, head of LTTE's political division on Thursday, speaking at the funeral of Mr. E. Kousalyan, at Thandiyadi Martyr's Memorial in Batticaloa.
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LTTE leaders visit Kousalyan's wife, mother

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 February 2005, 16:54 GMT]
Head of LTTE Political Wing, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, LTTE's Special Commander for Batticaloa, Col. Banu, Head of LTTE's Finance Division, Mr. S. Thamilenthi, LTTE Senior Member Mr. K. V. Balakumaran, and LTTE military commander Mr. S. Nagesh arrived in Karadiyanaru Maha Vithiyalam grounds in Batticaloa 5 PM Wednesday in a SLAF Helicopter facilitated by the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM). LTTE leaders visited Mr. Kousalyan's wife Pushpa in Ampilanthurai, Kokkadicholai and Kousalyan's mother and three sisters in Pandariyaveli in LTTE controlled area, LTTE sources said. Kousalyan was married in 22 March 2004, and Pushpa is 7 months pregnant, sources said.
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Batticaloa shuts down for Kousalyan, funeral Thursday

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 February 2005, 09:33 GMT]
A total shutdown was observed in the Batticaloa district and the coastal areas of the Amparai district Wednesday to mourn the death of Mr. Kousalyan. LTTE officials in Batticaloa said that his funeral would take place Thursday afternoon and that he would be buried at the martyr’s memorial in Thandiyadi, about ten kilometers west Batticaloa town. Muslim towns in the region were also shutdown. Mr. S. P Thamilchelvan, head of the LTTE’s political division and Col. Bhanu, commander of the LTTE’s military forces in Batticaloa-Amparai are expected to arrive in the eastern district Wednesday afternoon.
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Colombo dragging feet on joint mechanism, says Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 February 2005, 12:11 GMT]
"The Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) is still dragging its feet over the establishment of a joint mechanism to take forward the reconstruction and rehabilitation of tsunami destroyed Tamil coastal areas in the northeast province," said Mr S P Thamilchelvan, Political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) addressing a press conference following his two hour- talks with Mr Hans Brattskar, Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka held Saturday morning in LTTE Peace Secretariat in Killinochchi, sources said.
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Independence day massacre in Killinochchi remembered

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 February 2005, 11:09 GMT]
14th death anniversary of nine innocent Tamil civilians who died in aerial bombing by the Sri Lanka Air Force on 4th February, 1991 at Koolavadi, Uruththirapuram in Killinochchi district was observed Friday, Vanni sources said.
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National Day of Mourning observed in NorthEast

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 January 2005, 12:54 GMT]
Amid cries among those attending the various ceremonies, a highly emotional day of mourning was observed throughout the Northeast Wednesday on the 31st annivesary day of the Tsunami that devastated the Northeast on 26th of December. A wall-clock, which stopped at 8.50 a.m. on December 26 at Mullaitivu Kallapaddu Maha Vidiyalayam following Tsunami disaster was again made to tick into operation on Wednesday at 8.50 a.m. symbolizing the return of life. Tamils observe 31st day of death with special ceremonies.
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Equitable aid distribution, focus of Pirapaharan, Norway meet

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 January 2005, 11:39 GMT]
Leaders of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Saturday requested the Norwegian government delegation led by its Foreign Minister Mr.Jan Petersen to ensure that the northeast region received equitable proportion of the international aid Sri Lanka is expected to receive in the aftermath of tsunami disaster. In the NorthEast region about seventy five thousand families have been affected and around 25,000 have lost their lives, the Norwegian delegation was told, Vanni sources said.
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Dutch Ambassador, EU official meet Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 January 2005, 12:07 GMT]
Ms. Susan Blankhart, H.E. The Ambassador for The Netherlands and European Commission’s Charge d’Affaires Mr. Wouter Wilton expressed their condolences and their "solidarity to the people of the region in distress and bereavement" when they met with the Liberation Tigers' Head of the Political Division, Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan at the Peace Secretariat Tuesday morning, sources from Vanni said.
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WFP Executive Director meets with Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 January 2005, 09:48 GMT]
Executive Director of World Food Programme (WFP), Mr.James T. Morris, met with the LTTE's Political Head Mr. S.P.Thamilchelvan and expressed encouragement by the timely engagement of LTTE and the TRO in feeding displaced people, according to a news release issued by the LTTE Peace Secretariat.
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Kofi Annan's Special Envoy visits Mullaithivu

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 January 2005, 21:19 GMT]
Margareta Wahlstrom, UN Secretary General's Special Envoy on Relief Operations, met with the Head of the LTTE's Political Wing, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan Saturday and expressed condolences and solidarity to the Tamil people affected by the tsunami on behalf of the UN Secretary General, sources said. Urging the UN not to allow political considerations to deter its participation in the rebuilding efforts in the Tamil homeland, Mr. Thamilchelvan told UN Envoy that the Sri Lanka government has "acted in bad faith" by bringing the military into the humanitarian equation.
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Canadian parliamentarian meets Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 January 2005, 17:20 GMT]
“All Canadian aid for Tsunami relief would be channelled through our own organisations and equitable distribution is the bottom line of our humanitarian aid for relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction” said Hon. Jim Karygiannis, P.C., M.P., and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport in a meeting with the head of the Political Division Mr. S.P.Thamilchelvan, LTTE's peace secretariat reported.
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World Bank, ADB officials meet Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 January 2005, 11:11 GMT]
Worldbank Country Director, Peter Harold, in a meeting with Head of LTTE Political Wing, S.P.Thamilchelvan, in Kilinochchi Friday, expressed his condolences to people over the loss of their loved ones and added, "the institutions we represent, would continue extending solidarity in the reconstruction efforts,” said the LTTE's peace secretariat website.
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PDS gears for phase two & three of tsunami relief in Northeast

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 January 2005, 16:45 GMT]
"The LTTE with its quick deployment ability and the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) with generous assistance from the Tamil Diaspora and the international NGOs, are tackling the immediate Tsunami relief needs, the first phase of the relief efforts. The Liberation Tigers are calling for international assistance to meet phase two and three of the relief effort", LTTE's Political Head Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan told TamilNet following a conference with Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr Hans Brattskar, in Killinochchi where they discussed the proper channeling of aid to northeast for phase two and three of Tsunami relief as being planned by PDS.
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Thamilchelvan calls for end to fraudulent reports

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 January 2005, 13:47 GMT]
Denying rumours that the LTTE had burnt refuges or that aid had been stolen or incorrectly distributed, the head of the Liberation Tigers political wing, Mr S.P. Thamilchelvan, called on all media organisations to visit the affected areas and verify the fact for themselves before publishing unverified stories.
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Thamilchelvan receives first consignment of Italian relief

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 January 2005, 09:02 GMT]
Italian Foreign Ministry Tuesday handed over a consignment of medical equipments, medicines and tents for temporary shelters to Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan to be distributed through the rescue and relief mechanism that have been set up in Tamil areas. Thanking the Italian government and the Italian people for the kind gesture of humanitarian at a time of distress, Thamilchelvan explained to the officials how the rescue and relief operations are being conducted.
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PDS sets in motion the needs assessment for tsunami relief

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 January 2005, 06:39 GMT]
The Planning and Development Secretariat (PDS) of the Liberation Tigers has already set in motion the needs assessment process for Tsunami Relief in the northeast, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, Head of the LTTE's Political Wing told TamilNet Tuesday.
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LTTE should handle relief operation in its territory - Ranil

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 January 2005, 05:54 GMT]
Leader of the Main Opposition United National Front (UNF), Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, has said that the Liberation Tigers should handle the tsunami relief operation in the LTTE-held areas as they were the ones who handled the immediate rescue operation in those areas. Mr. Wickremesinghe, who is scheduled to visit the tsunami-wrecked areas in the Northern province Wednesday, has made these comments Monday in an exclusive interview with the Colombo-based Tamil daily, Sudar Oli.
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UNICEF official meets TRO, children in Mullaitivu

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 January 2005, 10:35 GMT]
Ms Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), travelled to Kilinochchi Monday morning around 8.30 a.m., where she met with children from Senthalir Illam who had escaped death and Mr. Reggie, Executive Director of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO).
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TNA to brief international community on northeast devastation

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 January 2005, 15:49 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) will soon brief the international community about the massive needs of the north-east that suffered the worst in December 26 Tsunami disaster, TNA sources said Sunday.
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