Kantalai Sivan Temple "Kumbabishekam" held

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 September 2004, 14:06 GMT]
The consecration (Kumbabishekam) ceremony of the historic Kantalai Sivan Temple in Trincomalee district, which was built by the Chola King Rajendra Cholan around A.D.1010 was held Friday with Bramasiri S.Ravichandrakurukal, Chief Priest of the historic Trincomalee Paththirakali Amman Temple, conducting the ceremony officiating as the chief of a group of Hindu priests.
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Jaffna MPs allocate funds for dependents of missing persons

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 September 2004, 11:42 GMT]
Jaffna district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians have allocated funds under the Decentralized Budget for the welfare of the dependents who have lost their breadwinners following the disappearance of persons after the arrest by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) during the period 1996-1997, sources said.


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Trinco Inner Wheel Club honours students excelled in A/L exam

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 September 2004, 19:17 GMT]
The Inner Wheel Club of Trincomalee at its second anniversary held at the Trincomalee Rotary House honoured fifteen students from Trincomalee town schools who have passed the G.C.E. Advanced Level Examination with three A's.
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Bill criticized as disenfranchising many Tamils

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 September 2004, 14:28 GMT]
''The passage of 'Elections Special Provisions' Bill in Sri Lanka's parliament compelling citizens of Sri Lanka to produce National Identity Cards (NIC) to exercise his or her vote would tantamount to disenfranchising a large number of Tamil people, and would cause them irreparable political harm,'' said Mr.R.Sampanthan, parliamentary group leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in a letter faxed to Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse through the Secretary General of the Parliament Thursday.
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Training for unemployed graduates begins in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 September 2004, 13:16 GMT]
A three month training program for hundred and sixty eight unemployed graduates in the Vavuniya district was inaugurated Thursday. The program is part of a controversial scheme by President Chandrika Kumaratunga's government to provide state jobs for more forty one thousand unemployed graduates. The scheme was introduced after mass protests and hunger strikes backed by the Marxist Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, President Kumaratunga's mail coalition ally. Critics say it will cause a huge strain on the cash strapped Sri Lankan treasury.
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French diplomats meet TNA foreign affairs committee

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 September 2004, 09:36 GMT]
“We told France if indeed talks on the ISGA commence, there is a good chance that an agreement could be reached in this matter. We said that this is exactly what the Singhalese are afraid of, as it would mean that they would no longer have a monopoly on power, and their hegemony over the Tamil nation will cease for once and for all time. We also said that it is for this reason that we suspect that the Sri Lankan government t is trying to provoke the LTTE to another war by destabilizing the east and supporting Tamil armed groups," said Mr. Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam TNA MP Thursday.
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Few Tamils to receive graduate training

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 September 2004, 16:56 GMT]
Of the first batch of 17,018 unemployed graduates who are to begin their three-month training programme Thursday at 215 centres in 23 districts excluding Killinochchi and Mullaitivu districts only 2,140 (11.4%) are Tamil medium graduates and the rest 14,883 are Sinhalese. These graduates will be given employment after the training programme, education sources said.
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TNA's Southern campaign critical to peace- paper

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 September 2004, 09:29 GMT]
"The failure of the Tamil leadership during the last half a century to join forces with the progressive forces in the South has been one of the reasons why earlier attempts at a solution were not successful," said an editorial in Thinakkural, welcoming the formation of awareness and advocacy committees by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to conduct a campaign in the South of Sri Lanka on the importance of ISGA, and the aspirations of Tamils.
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Estate youths seek greener pastures

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 August 2004, 05:15 GMT]
Growing population of young adults within the community of plantation workers in hill country towns of Nuwara Eliya, Hatton, Bandarawela and others see education as their best opportunity to break out of the miserable living conditions their parents endure. More are seeking lower-middle class employment in and out of their estates. "Out of the thirty staff running this show room, fifteen are children of plantation workers," said Malar Rani who attends to the stream of visitors inspecting the merchandize displayed at the Laboakellie tea estate, located 15 km north of Nuwara Eliya town.
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TNA parliamentarians to meet Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 August 2004, 18:01 GMT]
All twenty-two parliamentarians of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) are scheduled to hold talks with Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, Political Head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Monday morning at the headquarters of the LTTE, Vanni sources said.


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"We will remain strong" - Balakumaran in Oslo

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 August 2004, 03:01 GMT]
"LTTE has been successfully resisting attempts to weaken its military and political strength during the peace time with the same courage and bravery it displayed during the time of war. Tamils seek a just peace and not a peace with surrender. LTTE leadership will not relent until political and social dignity is restored to the lives of Tamil people," said Mr.V.Balakumaran, a senior member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in his address as Chief Guest in the Silver Jubilee of the Tamil Sangam in Oslo Saturday .


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Sri Lanka recommissions disputed Ilmenite factory

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 August 2004, 14:26 GMT]
The Government of Sri Lanka will re-commission the disputed Pulmoddai Ilmenite factory next Wednesday 1 September, officials said. The factory was closed sixteen years ago after the Liberation Tigers blasted its fresh water supply lines from the Yan Oya River. The factory processed sand excavated from the beaches of Pulmoddai, 52 kilometres north of Trincomalee, to separate Ilmenite and Rutile ores for export. Sea Tigers sank two foreign ships that were loading Ilmenite sand off the Pulmoddai coast in 1996 and 1997.


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Sri Lanka's PM visits military frontline

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 August 2004, 16:21 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksha Tuesday visited the military frontlines of Weli Oya. He inspected defences on the Forward Defence Lines that separate areas controlled by the Liberation Tigers and the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) in this disputed region in the southern corner of the Mullaithivu district. Prime Minister Rajapaksha spoke to Sri Lanka army officers and the Sinhala settlers in Weli Oya during his visit. SLA drove out Tamils from fourteen villages in this region overnight in 1984. GOSL then armed and settled Sinhala convicts here amidst SLA camps.
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Technology Education key to Tamils' prosperity- Thilak

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 August 2004, 00:04 GMT]
"Skills development in information technology across the districts of NorthEast at international levels is key to economic upliftment of our people," said S.Thilak, currently the Director of Economic Development for NorthEast and formerly political head of Trincomalee, when TamilNet talked to him Saturday about his new assignment in the economic division.
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Tigers reiterate stand, say Tamils losing peace hope

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 August 2004, 12:13 GMT]
''We explained to the European Union envoys the LTTE leadership's stand that we are ready to restart negotiations with the Government of Sri Lanka on the basis of the Interim Self Government Authority proposal which was endorsed by the Tamil people at the general elections", said Mr. S. P Thamilchelvan, head of LTTE 's political division, speaking to the press after meeting a top EU delegation from Colombo Monday in Kilinochchi.
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Record crowds attend Madhu Church festival

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 August 2004, 15:32 GMT]
The annual festival of Madhu Church concluded Sunday with three Bishops - Thomas Soundaranayagam (Jaffna), Malcolm Ranjit (Ratnapura) and Rayappu Joseph (Mannar) - jointly holding Holy Mass. About three hundred thousand devotees from all parts of the island participated in the final day of the festival of the Madhu Church, which is also called Jungle Shrine, revered by Tamils and Sinhalese, sources said.
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'Solution should be based on what Tamils want' - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 August 2004, 18:33 GMT]
"We created the conditions for Peace Talks by unilaterly declaring a cease-fire in December 2001. Solution to the Tamil problem should be on the basis of aspirations of the Tamils because they are the ones who have faced discrimination, oppression and war for many years. It cannot be based on what the Sinhala people want. It cannnot be based on what the Sinhala government wants. This is why the political pacts Tamils made in the past with Sinhala leaders came to naught." said Mr. S.P. Thamilchelvan in a press briefing in Kilinochchi Saturday.
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LTTE ready to resume talks based on ISGA- Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 August 2004, 10:48 GMT]
Institutionalising the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals put forward by the Liberation Tigers must be viewed on a humanitarian perspective rather than making it a political bargain to satisfy extremist elements in the southern polity, Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, the head of the LTTE’s political wing told Norwegian Deputy Ambassador at a meeting held in Kilinochchi, Saturday. "We are waiting for a positive response from the government to recommence negotiations on the basis of ISGA proposals," Mr. Thamilchelvan told the Norwegian diplomat, LTTE’s peace secretariat website reported.
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TNA MPs welcome POTA's repeal, urge India to revoke ban

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 August 2004, 13:52 GMT]
''We welcome the Indian Central Government for its intention to abolish the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). At the same time, we also urge the Indian Government to consider lifting the ban on the LTTE and create a more meaningful and conducive environment necessary to bring the stalled peace process in Sri Lanka back on track'', TNA MPs Mr. Joseph Pararajasingam and Mr. Selvam Adaikalanathan told TamilNet Friday.
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SLFP, UNP should act together to recommence negotiations - NLF

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 August 2004, 02:57 GMT]
"It is indeed absolutely incumbent on the two so-called major parties (UNP and SLFP) to get their act together to recommence negotiations and take them forward fruitfully to an equitable outcome, especially because it is these two parties that are irrefutably responsible, jointly and severally, for the sins of omission and commission that triggered the 20 year long war," Dr. Vickramabahu Karunaratne, the leader of the New Left Front (NLF), told TamilNet in an interview Monday.
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