"Hill country Tamils support NE peace efforts" -Thondaman

[TamilNet, Sunday, 17 March 2002, 21:46 GMT]
"The upcountry Tamils would extend their wholehearted support to the northeast Tamil to win their legitimate rights," declared Mr.Arumugam Thondaman, Minister of the Estate Infrastructure and Housing Development addressing the mammoth rally held Sunday at Nuwaraeliya. Earlier thousands of upcountry Tamils participated in a peace walk, which was organized to express support to the United National Front government's peace efforts and the cease-fire agreement signed by the Prime Minister, Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, and the LTTE leader, Mr.Velupillai Pirapaharan.
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Tamil paramilitaries pose risk to truce – Karikalan

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 March 2002, 16:11 GMT]
(News Feature) The deputy leader of the political wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the head of its Batticaloa - Amparai section said this week that the movement was committed to the terms and conditions of the permanent ceasefire agreement and that the LTTE was engaging in the peace process from a position of strength. In an interview to TamilNet at the LTTE’s district political head office in Kokkaddicholai, Mr. Karikalan said that harassment of civilians by the Sri Lankan armed forces in the Batticaloa-Amparai district was continuing and Tamil paramilitaries working with the army had not been disarmed yet.
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Police out of Koneswaram demands Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 March 2002, 22:11 GMT]
Mr.R.Sampanthan, Trincomalee district parliamentarian Tuesday urged the Deputy Inspector General of Police (Eastern region) to permanently remove the police barrack from the 'madam' (pilgrim's rest) of historic Koneswaram temple in the eastern port town.
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Restriction on Colombo Tamils lifted

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 March 2002, 17:41 GMT]
The United National Front (UNF) government Friday decided to suspend immediately the practice of providing information about Tamil civilians residing in Colombo and its suburbs to the Police. Till Friday permanent residents and owners of boarding houses and lodges in Colombo had to furnish information about Tamil civilians who come from outstations, especially from the Northeast province and stay with them, to the police.
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LTTE leader compliments Norway for historic peace agreement

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 March 2002, 15:10 GMT]
Mr Vellupillai Pirapaharan, leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Wednesday hailed the truce agreement between the Sri Lanka government and the Tamil Tigers as a historical achievement that laid a strong foundation for the peace process and negotiated political settlement. The LTTE leader praised the Norwegian facilitators for their sincere and untiring effort to bring peace in the island when he met the head of the Norwegian monitoring mission, the retired Norwegian army general Trond Furuhovede in Killinochci, northern Sri Lanka Wednesday evening.
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Appeal Court to inquire JVP's petition

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 March 2002, 17:43 GMT]
The Court of Appeal Tuesday decided to take up the petition filed by the Marxist Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) against the cease-fire agreement signed by the Prime Minister, Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe and the Leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Mr.Velupillai Pirapaharan for inquiry on Friday 14th March 2002.
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Parliament debates permanent truce

[TamilNet, Monday, 04 March 2002, 12:23 GMT]
The two-day debate on the permanent cease-fire agreement signed by the United National Front government (UNF) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on February 22 began Monday morning in Parliament. "The agreement signed last month by me and the LTTE leader Mr.V.Pirapaharan was a cease-fire agreement and not the final step in arriving at a political solution to the ethnic crisis. However, the agreement is a vehicle for moving forward and addressing the needs of the LTTE and the problems put forward by the Tamil people,", said the Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe in a special speech made during the debate.
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Thousands swarm Vavuniya for self-determination rally

[TamilNet, Friday, 01 March 2002, 16:50 GMT]

Mr. P. Chandrasekeran, Minister for Plantation Community Development speaking at the 'Pongu Thamil' rally.

More than thirty thousand people gathered in Vavuniya town Friday afternoon for the Pongu Thamil upsurge rally and cultural program. Five large processions led by Tamil National Alliance politicians and community leaders in Vavuniya converged on the grounds of the northern border town's urban council Wednesday afternoon. The highlight of the rally was the burning of a large cardboard replica of an army boot on the grounds, symbolising the military oppression of the Tamils by the Sri Lankan state.
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'LTTE is close to Tamil hearts'- UNF MP

[TamilNet, Sunday, 24 February 2002, 15:41 GMT]
(Photos) "The Tamil people of the north and east have accepted in their hearts the leader of the Liberation Tigers, Mr. Velupillai Pirapaharan, as their sole leader. The elections to the Parliament established that the Liberation Tigers are the sole representatives of the Tamil people," said Mr. M. A. M Mahroof, United National Party MP for Trincomalee, addressing a peace rally in the eastern port town Sunday. About ten thousand people from all walks of life thronged Trincomalee Sunday morning for the peace march and the rally. Many marchers carried large photographs of Mr. Pirapaharan.
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Kumaratunga expresses 'shock and dismay' over truce signing

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 February 2002, 19:15 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, expressed her "shock and dismay" at the government's hurried signing of a permanent ceasefire with the Liberation Tigers. In a statement released by the Presidential Secretariat, she lashed out at her arch-rival Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for not seeking her prior approval, describing his entering into the truce as "an undemocratic act."
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Norway announces permanent ceasefire in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 February 2002, 10:16 GMT]
The Norwegian government Friday declared the commencement from Saturday of a permanent ceasefire between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers. In a statement, Jan Petersen, Foreign Minister of Norway, said his government had been asked to make public the agreement signed by LTTE leader Vellupillai Pirapaharan and Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
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PTA arrests expose covert operation - paper

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 January 2002, 00:49 GMT]
(News Feature) The arrest last week of members of an elite commando unit of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) on suspicion they were planning to assassinate the Prime Minister has blown the cover of an important covert operation to assassinate senior members of the Liberation Tigers, the Sunday Time reported this week. The arrests of members of a Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) group came despite efforts by the SLA high command to prevent the raid on the soldiers’ safe house, the paper said.
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LTTE leader calls for Norwegian engagement

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 January 2002, 12:08 GMT]
Mr Velupillai Pirapaharan, the leader of the Liberation Tigers has written to the Norwegian Prime Minister Mr Kjell Magne Bondevik, calling for Norway’s continuous engagement as the facilitator between the LTTE and the new Sri Lanka government to find a peaceful settlement to the ethnic conflict. In a press release, the LTTE said Wednesday that Mr. Pirapaharan also complimented the Royal Norwegian Government for its impartial and neutral approach in the facilitatory process. The statement also said a Norwegian delegation headed by Mr Helgeson, the Deputy Foreign Minister, will meet Mr Anton Balasingham, the official spokesman and chief negotiator for the LTTE in London on 4 January.
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LTTE declares month-long ceasefire

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 December 2001, 10:40 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in an official statement issued Wednesday from its headquarters in Vanni, northern Sri Lanka, announced the declaration of a month long “unilateral cessation of hostilities” as a goodwill measure during the festive season “to facilitate and promote initiatives towards a peace process.” The LTTE’s observation of cease-fire begins at midnight on Christmas Eve, 24 December 2001, the organisation said in a press release. The LTTE said if the Sri Lankan government "reciprocates positively to our goodwill gesture and ceases armed hostilities against our forces and takes immediate steps to remove the economic embargo and other restrictions," it will favourably consider extending the period of cease-fire.
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LTTE leader makes special plea to the Sinhalese: 'reject racist forces, offer justice to the Tamils'

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 November 2001, 12:25 GMT]
In a special appeal made Tuesday to the majority Sinhala people faced with crucial parliamentary election early next month in Sri Lanka, Mr. Velupillai Pirapaharan, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), urged them to reject racist forces committed to militarism and war and to offer justice to the Tamil people to bring about peace, ethnic reconciliation and economic prosperity to the island.
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UNP protests, Tamil campaign begins in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 November 2001, 21:16 GMT]
United National Party candidates and supporters Sunday staged a protest against election violence in Vavuniya town while the Tamil National Alliance opened a campaign office on Vairavar Kovil Road in the town centre and held a joint propaganda meeting in Mudaliyakulam in the Cheddikulam division later in the day. The UNP demonstrated against the attack on the party's chief candidate for the district on Friday night in which gunmen suspected to be members of a Tamil Para-military group operating with the Sri Lanka army opened fire on the vehicle in which he was travelling.
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EPDP preparing to rig Jaffna poll -Maheswaran

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 31 October 2001, 17:21 GMT]
The Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) is preparing to rig the polls in Jaffna with the connivance of a government official, said Mr. T. Maheswaran, ex-MP and chief candidate of the United National Party in Jaffna, addressing a campaign meeting in Nallur, a suburb of the northern town, Wednesday. ‘The EPDP is a quisling army of the Sri Lankan government. The struggle led by the leader of the Tigers, Pirapaharan, and all the sacrifices made for its progress would be demeaned internationally if members of the EPDP are elected to the Parliament from Jaffna,’ the UNP candidate said.
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LTTE condemns assassination of senior leader

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 September 2001, 13:09 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in an official statement issued from its headquarters in Vanni Wednesday, strongly condemned the killing of one of its senior leaders, Colonel Shankar. The statement said the LTTE leadership "shares the Tamil people's outrage and treats the killing of a senior leader with utmost gravity."
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LTTE "will not extend cease-fire amid Army offensive"

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 January 2001, 11:19 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) will not extend its unilateral month long cease-fire, due to expire next week, if the Sri Lankan government continues the current offensive operation in the southern sector of the Jaffna peninsula, the organisation's chief negotiator, Anton Balasingham, said Friday in a special interview to the popular Jaffna daily, the Uthayan. The LTTE's cease-fire deadline expires on January 24.
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