TNA meets with Trinco Muslim leaders

[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 October 2004, 18:59 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Saturday launched its first district political awareness campaign in Trincomalee district by organizing a discussion with a group of prominent Muslim citizens in the east port town at Trincomalee New Silver Star Hotel, TNA sources said.
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Southern delegation meets Ilamparithi

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 October 2004, 17:08 GMT]
Jaffna district political head of the Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam, C.Ilamparithi, Thursday met with a delegation comprising Southern provincial councillors and members of the Saumya Youth Foundation at the Potpathy Road offices of the LTTE, sources said.
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SLA bars paddy cultivation in Trinco village

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 October 2004, 12:40 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has prohibited resettled Tamil farming families in Paththinipuram village from cultivating their paddy fields for the forthcoming season, said the villagers in complaints lodged with the Tampalakamam Divisional Secretary (DS) and Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO).


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SLA bars paddy cultivation in resettled Trinco village

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 October 2004, 07:10 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has prohibited resettled Tamil farm families in Paththinipuram village from cultivating their paddy fields for the forthcoming season, said in complaints lodged with the Tampalakamam Divisional Secretary (DS) and Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO).
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'Lack of confidence can endanger cease fire' - Swiss FM

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 October 2004, 10:57 GMT]
"There is lack of confidence which could be an obstacle to return to peace talks. This lack of confidence could endanger the cease fire in Sri Lanka. The Liberation Tigers are ready to reconsider the basis for restarting talks. They told our officials their Interim Self Governing Authority proposal is not non-negotiable. This is the special message I conveyed to the Sri Lankan government", said Ms. Micheline Calmy-Rey, Switzerland's Foreign Minister, speaking to the press in Colombo Tuesday.
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Education Ministry invites CTTU for talks to avert strike

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 October 2004, 14:31 GMT]
Ms Tara de Mel, Secretary to the Ministry Education in the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government has invited the Ceylon Tamil Teachers’ Union (CTTU) for talks on 13 October at her office in Colombo to resolve problems confronting the Tamil medium education and Tamil medium teachers and students in the northeast and in other provinces. President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge is also holding the portfolio of Minister of Education. Her deputy Minister for Education is Mr.Mangala Samaraweera who is also the Minister for Media.
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Police escort TNA MPs after meeting with Mahanayake Thero

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 October 2004, 10:26 GMT]
TNA MPs called on the Mahanayake Thero of the Malwatte Chapter Thibbottuwe Sri Siddharatha Sumangala Thero Monday 9am and drew his attention to the historial failure thus far to find an equitable solution to the Tamil national question, and impressed on him the necessity for an interim administration for the North East, sources said. At the end of the meeting, when the TNA MPs came out, Kandy police had to intervene when opposing buddhist monks and members of extremist Sinhala organizations attacked the TNA MPs, police sources said.


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U.S Congressman speaks on Sri Lanka violence

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 October 2004, 02:06 GMT]
Republican Iowa Congressman James A. Leach, chairman of the Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific of the House International Relations Committee, expressed concern about the rising level of political violence in Sri Lanka and called for a resumption of the peace talks between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, in a statement before the U.S House of Representatives issued October 7 and distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State.
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Security forces assault Tamil youths in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 October 2004, 16:20 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army soldiers, police personnel and Sinhala home guards severely assaulted a group of Tamil youths Friday evening at Anpuvallipuram junction, in Trincomalee, injuring two of them. The injured youths have been admitted at the Trincomalee general hospital, sources said.
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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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Jaffna Mosque Committee against SLMC meeting

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 October 2004, 00:10 GMT]
"We publicly appeal to the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leadership not to use the resettled Muslim internally displaced families as pawns for its political purposes. If SLMC attempts to hold their general meeting in Jaffna we will launch a protest campaign on the same day," said Jaffna Masjid Mohamedia Jumma Mosque Committee in a press statement released Thursday.
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International Teachers Day celebration in Kalmunai draws thousands

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 October 2004, 23:32 GMT]
International Teachers Day celebrations were held in Kalmunai, Wesley College grounds on Wednesday in a large scale involving Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala communities. About 2000 pre school teachers from Batticaloa and Ampara districts were taken in procession with pre school children's bands from Batticaloa district and Sinhala zones in Ampara district. The main banner leading the procession was carried by Muslim, Tamil and Sinhala Pre school teachers.
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Sri Lanka ID card symbol of Tamils’ humiliations – TNA MP

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 October 2004, 12:57 GMT]
“The national identity card is a symbol of enslavement for the Tamils. It is a symbol of the humiliations to which they were subjected by the Sinhala state. What is the guarantee that the two main Sinhala parties won’t unite in the future to deny Tamils their voting right by making voter identity cards issued under this law invalid in the northeast? These parties get together only to disfranchise Tamils or to deny their legitimate rights”, said Mr. Selvarajah Gajendran, Tamil National Alliance MP for Jaffna, speaking on the election identity card bill in Sri Lanka’s Parliament Thursday.
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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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Resettlers receive houses built with World Bank funding

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 October 2004, 03:16 GMT]
Ceremonial handing over of keys of new houses built with World Bank funding and organized by the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) was held in Ananda Nagar in Kilinochchi at 12.30 Tuesday. Local Non Governmental Organizations and private citizens provided additional funding support to the Rs.150,000 provided by the World Bank to build each house.
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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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AAT course inaugurated in Killinochchi Technical Institute

[TamilNet, Monday, 04 October 2004, 16:29 GMT]
Killinochchi Technical Institute functioning under the guidance of Economic Consultancy House and supported by London TR Tech recently inaugurated the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) Course. Mr.T.Priapaharan, Principal of the Institute presided over the inaugural event of the course.
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Mannar Bishop, Chief Immam visit Karisal

[TamilNet, Monday, 04 October 2004, 12:25 GMT]
The Bishop of Mannar and the chief Immam of the Mannar Mohideen Jumma Masjid Mosque Monday visted Karisal - the village of the man who was shot dead near Pesalai on Thursday night. The two religious leaders were accompanied by the chairman and secretary of the Mannar Citizens' Committee and the President of the Mohideen Jumma Mosque's board of trustees. Meanwhile, Police said that a parcel containing two kilograms of heroin worth 6 million rupees was disovered by the roadside Saturday near the place where the man from Karisal was shot dead.
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