GA briefs officials on Vanni voting arrangements

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 March 2004, 05:43 GMT]
Essential facilities, including transport, have been arranged for the voters in the Liberation Tigers controlled areas of Vavuniya, Mannar and Mullaithivu to vote in clustered polling stations in the areas controlled by the Sri Lanka Army, and the Omanthai check point will stay open starting at 4:00 am on election day, April 2, until all the voters can return to their homes in the LTTE-controlled areas, said the Returning Officer and Government Agent for Vavuniya, Mr. K. Ganesh, at a special meeting Saturday.
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Resettled Kanniya village gets co-operative model shop

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 March 2004, 03:01 GMT]
Trincomalee Multi Purpose Co-operative Society (MPCS) Saturday opened its newly constructed eleventh retail and model shop at a cost of about 2 million rupees after about fourteen years in the resettled Tamil village Kanniya to cater to the urgent basic needs of the resettled families, civil society sources said. Kanniya is located about six km off north of east port town .
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Girl sexually assaulted by EPDP cadre

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 March 2004, 22:07 GMT]
The father of a twelve-year old girl student of Karampan Little Flower Girls' School Saturday made a complaint to the Kayts Police that his daughter had been sexually assaulted by a member of Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP). The girl's family is from Karampan south village in Kayts division, Police said.


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Omanthai checkpoint to close for election arrangements

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 March 2004, 17:24 GMT]
The Omanthai check point along A9 highway will be closed from 1 p.m. on April 1st to 5 p.m. for civilian movement and transport of goods to enable civil and army authorities to make arrangements for general election, the Commissioner of Elections Mr.Dayananda Dissanayake said Saturday in a press release.


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Rejection of ISGA will lead to separation - Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 March 2004, 16:53 GMT]
"The international community should come forward to recognize Tamils right to consider secession if the future Sinhala government refuses to negotiate on the basis of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposal of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam," said Mr.R.Sampanthan, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader and the lead candidate of the TNA contesting in the Trincomalee district addressing an election rally in Sambaltivu and Salli, Tamil villages in the north of Trincomalee Friday evening.
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"Sri Lanka's President sabotaged the Peace Process" - Selvam

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 March 2004, 16:23 GMT]
"The take over of the defense ministry by the President had been well planned to sabotage the peace talks between the UNF government and LTTE," said Mr.Selvam Adaikalanathan, former Member of Parliament and the lead candidate of the Tamil National Alliance in the Vavuniya electoral district addressing an election rally at Orr's Hill in Trincomalee Friday.
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Election arrangements in Trincomalee district finalized

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 March 2004, 18:50 GMT]
Fifteen clustered polling stations will be established in the Muttur and Eachilampathu divisions enabling voters residing in the Liberation Tigers held areas in the Trincomalee district to exercise their franchise, said Mr. Gamini Rodrigo, District Returning Officer and Government Agent, presiding over a conference held Friday in the district secretariat to finalize all arrangements for the forthcoming general election.
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CMEV delegation meets Jaffna LTTE political head

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 March 2004, 16:42 GMT]
Mr.C. Ilamparithi, Jaffna district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Friday told a delegation of the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) that armed activists of the Eelam Peoples' Democratic Party (EPDP)have engaged in unlawful activities such as intimidating, assaulting and provoking the people of the peninsula while conducting election campaign, sources said.
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Sangaree denies he is financed by Southern forces

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 March 2004, 15:26 GMT]
Mr. V.Anandasangaree, the President of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) and the lead candidate of an Independent Group contesting the Jaffna electoral district in the forthcoming general election, addressing a press conference in Jaffna Friday, denied the charges made some Tamil National Alliance members and the public that he was being financed by forces in the South.
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LTTE explains renegade’s revolt to Eastern cadres

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 March 2004, 17:33 GMT]
In a statement issued Thursday, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has explained to its cadres and divisional heads in the Batticaloa-Amparai district about the ‘offenses’ of Mr. Vinayagomoorthy Muraleetharan, also known as Karuna, who was the LTTE’s commander for the district.
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Sampanthan concludes Jaffna election campaign

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 March 2004, 00:46 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader Mr.R.Sampanthan appealed to Jaffna district Tamil voters to return TNA candidates in all nine Jaffna parliamentary seats in the forthcoming general election while addressed several election meetings in the Jaffna district Tuesday. He left Jaffna by road Wednesday morning to Pulmoddai, a Muslim village in the Trincomalee district for election campaign, sources said


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Permit Tamil people to exercise their franchise - Australian MP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 March 2004, 12:14 GMT]
"Unfortunately, due to a conflict between the President, who holds executive power, and the Prime Minister, the President dismissed parliament in February of this year and Sri Lanka will face general elections on 2 April 2004. It is vital that these elections are free and fair. It is particularly important that the Tamil people of the north-east, who have been deprived of their franchise during the last two decades, are permitted to cast their votes at the forthcoming elections," said John Murphy, Australian MP in a speech in the Australian Parliament Tuesday.
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US Tamils call for show of unity

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 March 2004, 02:46 GMT]
"It is the duty of every Tamil speaking person in Sri Lanka, regardless of his/her political alignment, religious affiliation, region of residence, or even personal biases, to set aside all such considerations and support this hard earned Tamil unity...[We] wish to humbly and earnestly request ALL Eelam Tamils to exercise their franchise on April 2nd, 2004, conscientiously," said United States-based expatriate Tamil organizations in an appeal issued Tuesday.
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Japan donates ambulances to NE hospitals

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 March 2004, 17:26 GMT]
Mr.Hiroshi Karube, Charge d' Affaires of the Japanese Embassy in Colombo, Tuesday handed over a consignment of six ambulances and three transport vehicles to the hospitals in the northeast and in the neighbouring districts under the Japanese Government funded Project for Improvement of Maternal and Child Health Care in the Conflict Affected areas.
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Kaluwanchikudy residents condemn Karuna group

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 March 2004, 14:24 GMT]
The people of Kaluthavalai-Kaluwanchikudy in the Batticaloa district have shredded the leaflets issued by the Karuna group, and the Tamil Alai newspaper controlled by the group in Kokkadicholai, condemning the group for warning the people of Batticaloa-Amparai against having any contacts with the Tamil national leadership based in the Vanni, sources in Battticaloa said.
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Sampanthan meets EU envoys

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 March 2004, 12:45 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader Mr.R.Sampanthan Tuesday told the envoys of member countries of the European Union (EU) based in Colombo that Tamils of northeast would lose faith in the Sri Lanka's election process and its democracy if tens of thousands of voters residing in the Liberation Tigers controlled areas are not allowed to exercise their franchise, political sources in Colombo said.


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Brattskar, Harrold meet Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 March 2004, 11:10 GMT]
Mr. Peter Harrold, Country Director for World Bank in Sri Lanka and the Ambassador for Norway Mr. Hans Brattskar met with Mr. S. P. Tamilselvan, Head of the LTTE Political Wing in its Head Quarters in Kilinochchi Tuesday. The meeting focussed on issues related to NorthEast development, current political situation and forthcoming general elections, sources said.
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TNA holds record election meetings in Muttur

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 March 2004, 10:35 GMT]
"The current ceasefire has been signed and peace talks commenced with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) when the successive governments in Colombo failed to destroy the LTTE militarily. This should be clearly borne in every one's mind," said Mr.R.Sampanthan, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader and the lead candidate of the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK) contesting the forthcoming general election in the Trincomalee district when addressing a series of election meetings held in Muttur division from morning till late in the night of Sunday.
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Women, key to nation building - Ms.Sithamparanathan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 March 2004, 00:26 GMT]
"I feel our freedom is near our door-step. Tamil men and women have a duty to welcome this freedom and fully engage themselves in nation building activities. Particularly our women have a significant role to play in building our nation," said Pathmini Sithamparanathan, first woman candidate standing for elections in Tamil National Alliance (TNA) ticket in Jaffna, talking to the Canadian Tamil Radio, Monday.
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TNA leader to meet EU ambassadors in Colombo

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 March 2004, 18:29 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader and the Secretary General of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) Mr.R.Sampanthan is scheduled to meet the ambassadors of European countries in Colombo Tuesday around noon, TNA sources said.
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