Sri Lanka minister urges Britain to lift ban on Tigers

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 January 2004, 13:23 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s minister for Hindu Affairs, Mr. T. Maheswaran Tuesday urged the British government to lift the ban on the Liberation Tigers. The minister gave a memorandum to the British High Commissioner and the Sri Lanka desk officer of the British Foreign Office who met him at his office in Colombo Tuesday. Minister Maheswaran said it is no longer fair or justifiable on the part of the British government to continue its ban on the LTTE.
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U.S Court declares Patriot Act provision Unconstitutional

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 January 2004, 11:53 GMT]
In a landmark decision declaring Patriot Act's addition of "expert advice and assistance" to the definition of material support is unconstitutionally vague, Judge Audrey Collins in Los Angeles enjoined the U.S.Government from enforcing the USA PATRIOT Act's prohibition on providing 'expert advice or assistance' to foreign terrorist organizations against the plaintiffs Ralph Fertig, Dr. Jeyalingam, the Humanitarian Law Project, the Ilankai Thamil Sangam and its members, and the Tamil Welfare and Human Rights Committee and its members.
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‘Donors can assist through local organisations’- Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 January 2004, 10:39 GMT]
“During our visit, we will explain to European governments that the immediate humanitarian needs of our people require urgent attention. We will explain to them that the political impasse in Colombo should not delay this anymore. Therefore donor nations can disburse funds for urgent humanitarian needs through organisations here and through our own mechanisms”, said Mr. S. P Thamilchelvan, the head of the LTTE’s political division, speaking to the press in Kilinochchi before flying to Colombo on Tuesday for a visit to Europe.
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LTTE expresses 'serious concern' over Indo-Lanka defence pact

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 January 2004, 14:31 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has expressed serious concern over the envisaged Indo-Sri Lankan Defence Agreement (DCA) arguing that it could have far-reaching negative consequences for the current peace process, sources told TamilNet Monday.
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NECORD funded school buildings opened in Eachilampathu

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 January 2004, 17:56 GMT]
The Trincomalee district military commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Colonel Pathuman, Saturday declared open two new buildings in two schools in the Eachchilampathu division, in the LTTE held Muttur east, constructed by the Asian Development Bank funded North East Community Restoration Development (NECORD) project at a cost of about 3.8 million rupees at the invitation of NECORD Project Director Mr.T.Lankaneson.
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JVP-SLFP alliance seriously jeopardizes Peace Process - American Academics

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 January 2004, 17:42 GMT]
North American academics expressed pessimism about the future of the peace process after the JVP-SLFP alliance. Prof.Oberst of Nebraska Weslyan University said, "it has complicated the peace process...LTTE leadership [will be] hesitant to agree to anything until after the next general election." Prof Mia Bloom from McGill University said the alliance "seriously jeopardizes the peace process since it provides legitimization of the SLFP shifting even further to the right."
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"Foreign nations understand LTTE’s central role to Sri Lanka's progress" –TNA MP

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 January 2004, 00:47 GMT]
“Currently, diplomats of foreign countries, ambassadors and representatives of donor nations who visit Sri Lanka and meet those in power in Colombo, are also visiting the Vanni to meet with the Liberation Tigers. This shows a clear understanding by the international community that without the participation of the LTTE, no progress can be made in the country,” said Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, the Tamil National Alliance MP from the Batticaloa district, speaking at the opening of the maternity home in Mandur Saturday.
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UNICEF underage list under review - LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 January 2004, 20:12 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), responding to a report released by UNICEF which expressed concern in the use of "children as soldiers," said that only about 10% of the individuals listed by the UNICEF as below 18 years have birth certificates and that a 3-person committee is reviewing UNICEF's list, taking steps to ascertain the ages of the rest of the individuals.


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British Embassy officials meet Pararajasingham

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 January 2004, 20:06 GMT]
Deputy Secretary for Political Affairs at the British Embassy in Colombo, Ms.Margaret Tongue, and Official in-charge of SouthAsian affairs, Ms.Catherine Ceeve, met Batticaloa Parliamentarian Joseph Pararajasingham Thursday evening and had discussions on the current political situation in Colombo, sources said.


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Chandrasekaran calls for a Joint Tamil Front

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 January 2004, 13:41 GMT]
Mr.Periyasamy Chandrasekaran, Leader of the Upcountry People's Front and a Member of Parliament for the Nuwara Eliya district appealed to the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to join forces with parties of upcountry Tamils to strengthen the political power of Tamils. "Tamils should unite to consolidate their political power if we are to effectively confront the re-emerging unification of Sinhala chauvinist forces," said Mr.Chandrasekaran talking to reporters after meeting LTTE's Head of Political Wing, S.P.Thamilchelvan in Kilinochchi today.
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'Singhalese should reject chauvinist forces'- LTTE

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 January 2004, 11:25 GMT]
“If the Sinhala people elect racist political leaders at the next election then Tamils might have to decide their own future. The Sinhala people should identify and reject chauvinist forces among them. It is in the hands of the Singhalese to prevent another bloodbath in this island," said Mr. S. P Thamilchelvan, the head of the Liberation Tigers political division during a goodwill meeting with journalists from the northeast in Kilinochchi Friday.
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Moragoda to Delhi for more talks on defence pact

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 January 2004, 09:57 GMT]
Mr.Milinda Morogoda, a senior minister in the United National Front (UNF) government, is due to leave for India Friday to hold further talks with Indian Foreign Minister Mr.Yaswanth Sinha and Defense Minister Mr.Geroge Fernandez on the proposed defense agreement between the two governments.
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JVP-SLFP MoU introduces new complexity- Akashi

[TamilNet, Thursday, 22 January 2004, 07:54 GMT]
"We declined to accept Mr. Akashi’s invitation to participate in Sri Lanka donors’ conference in Colombo tomorrow because there is no political stability and unified leadership of government in Colombo now. Our participation in this circumstance would cause doubts in the minds of the Tamil people," said Mr. S. P Thamilchelvan, speaking to the press at the conclusion of his meeting with Japan’s special representative to Sri Lanka Thursday in Kilinochchi. Mr. Akashi told presspersons the JVP-SLFP MoU ''introduces a new complexity to Sri Lanka."
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TNA delegation meets Akashi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 January 2004, 12:05 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Wednesday told the Japanese special peace envoy Mr.Yasushi Akashi that the international community should come forward to help the Tamils in the north east province with an alternative plan to restore normalcy in their lives and to develop their war-ravaged homeland if the political rivalry among Sinhala political leaders stalls the peace process, TNA sources said.


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SLMC leader Hakim meets Akashi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 January 2004, 12:00 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader and a senior Minister in the United National Front government Mr.Rauff Hakim told Japanese special peace envoy Mr.Yasushi Akashi that necessary steps should be taken to ensure that the foreign aid earmarked for the development of the northeast province to reach all communities in the province in a just and fair manner if the international community is prepared to channel such aid direct to the northeast rehabilitation and reconstruction without waiting for the stalled peace process to restart , party sources said.


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JVP-SLFP pact threatens peace and is set to provoke ethnic war- LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 January 2004, 10:01 GMT]
“The Memorandum of Understanding signed by the JVP and the SLFP after a year of intense dialogue fails to produce any concrete, realistic formula for a negotiated settlement of the Tamil national question. Rather, this anti-peace political pact articulating an incoherent, confused and mutually contradictory position on a serious national issue might create objective conditions for the resumption of ethnic war," Mr. Anton Balasingham, the chief negotiator and political strategist of the LTTE told TamilNet Wednesday.
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LTTE commander warns of grave consequences

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 January 2004, 07:57 GMT]
"If the Sinhala government thinks that our leader's sincere efforts to find a peaceful solution is a manifestation of weakness and thrusts a war on us, the consequences would be very grave," said Mr. T. Ramesh, LTTE's special commander for the Batticaloa-Ampara District, addressing a massive Pongu Thamil rally in Batticaloa Wednesday.
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JVP leader says totally opposed to SLFP’s power sharing policy

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 January 2004, 13:46 GMT]
Mr. Somawansa Amarasingha, the secretive leader of the JVP said that his party is totally against the SLFP policy of sharing power despite the alliance both parties have formed. In a wide-ranging interview with an online publication before his departure from an unnamed western country to Sri Lanka on Monday, Mr. Amarasingha castigated Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for behaving like an American puppet and for “speaking like a ruler of a land occupied by the US”. He asserted that the India - Sri Lanka Defence Pact should be made a cornerstone of the island’s foreign policy.
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SLFP-JVP MoU slams Sri Lanka’s peace process

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 January 2004, 10:27 GMT]
The memorandum of understanding signed by Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Tuesday slammed the peace process, asserting that it “threatens the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of the country, degrading its dignity”. The MoU also lambasted Mr. Wickremesinghe’s government for promoting “crony capitalism, racketeering, corruption and subservience to international financial institutions”.
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Akashi arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 January 2004, 02:04 GMT]
Japanese special peace envoy Mr.Yasushi Akashi arrived at Katunayake International Airport in Colombo Monday around midnight for a weeklong stay in Sri Lanka. "We will not interfere in the current political impasses now prevailing in Colombo. It is the duty of the political leaders of of Sri Lanka to find solution to their problem," Mr.Akashi told journalists on his arrival, media sources said.


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