Rehabilitated NE Provincial council, no substitute for ISGA- Paper

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 June 2004, 00:22 GMT]
”Sri Lanka Government appears to think that by strengthening the NorthEast provincial council and Center for Rehabilitation it could weaken LTTE’s claim for ISGA and convince the International Community to start disbursing the allocated aid money. This back door diplomacy will not work. The mandate of 90% of NorthEast Tamils should be recognized and the Government can ignore Tamils demand only at its own peril,” said Thinakkural, a popular Tamil daily in its editorial Tuesday.
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Jaffna civil organizations to hold protest march

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 June 2004, 21:55 GMT]
Jaffna District Consortium of Civil Organizations Tuesday decided to hold a protest march in Jaffna town Friday demanding the Government of Sri Lanka to restore normalcy in the lives of Tamil people and stop killing in the east and attacks on plantation Tamils, sources said.
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Court to hear appeals of Bindunuwewa massacre accused

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 June 2004, 01:44 GMT]
Chief Justice of Colombo Supreme Court, Sarath N.Silva has appointed five High Court justices to hear the appeals of the five accused, including Sri Lanka police officers, Senaka Karunasena and Roger Ratnayake, and three civilians from Bandarawela who were convicted of the massacre of 27 inmates of rehabilitation camp for young Tamil persons in Bindunuwewa on October 2000 and were sentenced to death, legal sources in Colombo said.
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Mannar Court releases refugees, orders remand for boatmen

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 June 2004, 11:27 GMT]
The Mannar Magistrate Mr. N.M.M.Abdullah Sunday released all 29 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees but ordered remand till June 10th for three boatmen, S.Jayarasa (27), S.Chandrabose (19) and A.Thavarajah (29) who brought them to the shore , legal sources in Mannar said. The three boatmen are Sri Lankan Tamils.


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World recognizes Tamils' struggle- Elilan

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 June 2004, 10:13 GMT]
"Brussels aid conference has told the Sri Lankan government to commence peace talks immediately with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) if the 4.5 billion dollars aid pledged in Tokyo is to be disbursed for development. This clearly shows that the international community has understood and accepted our freedom struggle," said the LTTE Trincomalee district political head Mr.S.Elilan addressing the inaugural meeting of Anna Fisheries Development Organization in Paththamkurichchy (Division No: 10), a suburb in the heart of Trincomalee, Wednesday morning.


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NorthEast observes day of mourning, hartal for Nadesan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 June 2004, 10:46 GMT]
Areas of NorthEast from Point Pedro to Amparai observed a day of mourning and general shut down (hartal) Wednesday to protest against the killing of a leading Tamil journalist Mr. Iyathurai Nadesan, media sources said.


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Peter Harrold meets Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 June 2004, 10:50 GMT]
Director of World Bank Country Representative for Sri Lanka, Mr. Peter Harrold, met with LTTE's Head of Political Wing, S.P.Thamilchelvan at the Kilinochchi Peace Secretariat today, the peace secretariat website said. The discussions centered on the need of funds to support urgent humanitarian needs in the NorthEast, the website added.
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NEIAP assists Kappalthurai resettled families

[TamilNet, Monday, 31 May 2004, 15:51 GMT]
The World Bank funded North East Integrated Agricultural Project (NEIAP) last weekend opened a grinding mill in the resettled village Kappalthurai which is located about 8 km off Trincomalee town, as an income generating measure and distributed sewing machines and push bicycles under the Life Support Activities (LSA) scheme for resettled families to earn for their livelihood, sources said.
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Ruling Alliance facing crisis?

[TamilNet, Monday, 31 May 2004, 03:14 GMT]
Media reports from Colombo indicated cracks appearing within the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), as the marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), one of the mainconstituents of UPFA, sent a written communique to Sri Lanka's President Ms Kumaratunge accusing her of violating the MoU signed between the JVP and SLFP.


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Kandapola affected to get compensation

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 May 2004, 10:50 GMT]
Sixty five persons from Kandapola who were injured or whose properties suffered damages during the ethnic violence in Kandapola, Nuwara Eliya district on the 28 August 2004, when Sri Lanka police opened fire, are to be compensated by the Sri Lanka Government, local media reported.
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Harim Peiris holds discussions with TRO officials

[TamilNet, Thursday, 27 May 2004, 16:40 GMT]
Mr.Harim Peiris, the spokesman for Sri Lanka's President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, Thursday visited Liberation Tigers-held Kilinochchi and held discussions with the Government Agent, heads of Sri Lanka government departments and representatives of the Tamils' Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), sources said.
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Trinco Tamil School holds prize giving day

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 May 2004, 19:50 GMT]
Trincomalee Vigneswara Maha Vidiyalayan, founded by the Methodist Church in 1823, held its annual prize giving Wednesday evening day with the Trincomalee district parliamentarians, Mr.R.Sampanthan and Mr.K.Thurairatnasingham as the chief guest and special guest respectively.
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SL President's media spokesman visits Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 May 2004, 17:48 GMT]
Sri Lanka President's media spokesman and the Director General of the Northern Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Reconciliation Ministry, Mr.Harim Peiris, Wednesday arrived in Jaffna and held discussions with government officials and the Sri Lanka Army Commander in Jaffna, Major General Susil Chandrapala, at the Jaffna district secretariat.
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"Institutionalize ISGA, core issues can be discussed later " - LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 May 2004, 08:28 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Wednesday categorically told the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government through Norwegian facilitators that the institutionalization of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) in the northeast province should take place first and that the core issues can be discussed later.
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Solheim's meeting with SL President rescheduled

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 May 2004, 18:49 GMT]
The Norwegian special peace envoy, Mr. Erik Solheim, is to meet Sri Lanka's President, Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge, after holding talks with the leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Kilinochchi Wednesday, State controlled Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) reported in its night news broadcast Tuesday.
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Divided Sinhala leadership poses danger to peace process- TNA

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 May 2004, 23:25 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Sunday expressed pessimism that it would be difficult to find a lasting political solution to the ethnic conflict through negotiations as the Sinhala political leadership is sharply divided on the question of resuming peace talks on the basis of Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) put forward by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).


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US condition to LTTE to lay down arms unacceptable - Sinhala journalist

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 May 2004, 07:45 GMT]
''The condition laid by the US government for the LTTE to lay down arms is not acceptable. The question of handing over arms would cease automatically when an acceptable political solution to the Tamil people is found through talks, accepting the self determination of Tamils and their traditional homeland concept,'' said Mr.Ranath Kumarasinghe, Feature Editor of Haraya, a Sinhala political paper, addressing a seminar on Peace and Media Saturday evening held at Trincomalee Town Hall.
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Tamil Nadu leaders urged to raise Sri Lanka Tamil issue

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 May 2004, 20:08 GMT]
"Tamil Nadu political leaders should pressure Delhi to take active interest in Sri Lanka Tamil problem and also to deproscribe the Liberation Tigers," said Leader of the Upcountry People’s Front (UPF) and Member of Parliament, Mr. Periyannan Chandrasekaran, speaking to Canadian Tamil radio after his recent visit to Tamil Nadu to meet with political leaders.
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Research book on King Ravaneswaran released in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 May 2004, 17:36 GMT]
"Ravaneswaran Inthira Ulah" a research book on the history of King Ravaneswaran written by a leading Tamil scholar Mr.Kandasamy Balasubramaniam of Moolai in Jaffna district was launched in Trincomalee recently under the auspices of Trincomalee Muthamil Valarkalai Mantram. Trincomalee Eelathu Ilakkiacholai published this book as its seventeenth publication, sources said.
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LTTE team completes assessment of development in East

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 May 2004, 15:20 GMT]
The team of political and administrative heads of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, led by the deputy head of the political division, Mr. S. Thangan, which visited the Batticaloa-Amparai district to assess development needs and activities, completed its assessment and returned to the Vanni Wednesday morning, sources said.
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