Norway, LTTE discuss talks agenda

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 July 2002, 17:35 GMT]
The Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister, Mr. Vidar Helgesen, met with the Liberation Tigers’ chief negotiator and political advisor, Mr. Anton Balasingham, in London Monday. Mr. Helgesen was accompanied by Mr. Erik Solheim, special advisor to the Norwegian Foreign Ministry and Ms. Lisa Gold, an executive officer with the Foreign Ministry.
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A5 reopens after seven years

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 July 2002, 06:55 GMT]
The forty-kilometre stretch of road on the A5 highway from Chenkaladi to Maha Oya which goes through territory controlled by the Liberation Tigers has been opened to the public after seven years. The opening ceremony was held near Karuththapalam Monday morning around 10.30, attended by senior LTTE officials and Sri Lanka Army officers.
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Controversy after Navy attacks LTTE trawler

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 July 2002, 01:39 GMT]
(News Feature) Following the Sri Lanka Navy’s (SLN) attack on an LTTE fishing trawler Saturday, the movement registered a strong protest with international monitors Sunday , describing the incident as a ‘serious violation’ of the ceasefire agreement. The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) meanwhile protested that two of its monitors who boarded the trawler had not been allowed to embark before the crew took the damaged vessel to shore and said this was a violation of the ceasefire. The LTTE however said the monitors - who had checked and cleared the trawler - had been assured of their safety and that the vessel was being rammed by SLN gunboats during its travel to shore.
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LTTE assures Muslim farmers

[TamilNet, Sunday, 14 July 2002, 11:47 GMT]
Muslim community welfare organisations have widely welcomed the Liberation Tigers' assurances that their safety in predominantly Tamil areas would be guaranteed and that there would be no restriction placed on their free movement or trade, Tamil press reports said.
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STF arrests LTTE cadre

[TamilNet, Sunday, 14 July 2002, 03:07 GMT]
Sri Lankan police commandos last Thursday arrested an unarmed member of the Liberation Tigers, Tamil press reports said. The arrest occurred as Sri Lankan government officials assured international monitors and the LTTE that arrests of Tamil Tigers by the security forces - which are violations of the ceasefire agreement between the two sides - would not be permitted.
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Mosque leaders, Tigers to defuse tensions

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 July 2002, 21:09 GMT]
Tamils and Muslims "should not allow the miscreants amongst us" to undermine communal harmony and derail peace efforts, said Mr. Tilak, a senior official of the Liberation Tigers in Trincomalee, when addressing a group of religious leaders and leading citizens of Muslims in the east port town Saturday morning.
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Three-member committee to probe Velanai incident

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 July 2002, 17:34 GMT]
A three-member committee has been appointed to probe the incidents that took place at Velanai in the Jaffna district on 27th October 2002, the Ministry of Defence said in a press release issued Friday. In that incident, LTTE political activists Semmanan and Thayalan were beaten up by navy personnel and masked men beleived to be members of a para military group Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP).
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TNA requests India to release 'VAIKO'

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 July 2002, 17:22 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance has appealed to the Indian government and the Tamil Nadu state government to release Vaiko Y.Gopalasamy, leader of the Makkal DMK and others who have been arrested. "The arrest of 'VAIKO' on the ground that he was supportive of the LTTE and his being remanded causes deep anguish to the Tamil people in Sri Lanka," said in a statement issued by the TNA Friday.
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Ferial Ashraff demands revision of cease-fire agreement

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 July 2002, 15:36 GMT]
The National Unity Alliance (NUA) Friday demanded a complete revision of the cease-fire agreement that has been signed by the Prime Minister and the LTTE leader. The NUA is one of the constituents of the main opposition People's Alliance (PA). The Executive President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge is the leader of the PA.
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Pathuman expresses serious concern to SLMM

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 July 2002, 21:11 GMT]
The commander of the Liberation Tigers in Trincomalee, Mr.Pathuman, Thursday expressed his serious concern over the arrests of unarmed members of the organisation by the Sri Lankan security forces, to the Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission. The LTTE commander held discussions, lasting two and half hours, at his office in Sampoor in the Mutur-east with the head of the SLMM head, (retd) Major General Trond Furuhovde Thursday morning.
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Mine weeding in Pallai yields 25000

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 July 2002, 16:43 GMT]
The de-mining unit of the Liberation Tigers removed more than 25 thousand mines and unexploded ordnance from the general area of Pallai in Jaffna since March this year. The head of the LTTE's de-mining unit in Pallai, Mr. Kunaratnaraj Jeyananthan, about half the area of the Pachchilaipillai Division, in which the war ravaged town is situated, has been cleared of mines.
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SLMM head holds talks in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 July 2002, 18:30 GMT]
The Norwegian head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (retd) Major General Trond Furuhovde Wednesday evening arrived Trincomalee town by Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) helicopter with LTTE's political division official Mr. Pulithevan from Batticaloa. A conference was held later in the evening at the auditorium of the provincial ministry of education at Orrs' Hill, Trincomalee.
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Karuna reiterates commitment to peace

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 July 2002, 12:35 GMT]
"There were insidious forces behind the recent troubles in the east. These forces should not be allowed to disrupt the peace process," said Col. V.Karuna, the commander of the Liberation Tigers for the districts of Batticaloa and Ampara, during a discussion with the head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and representatives of the Sri Lankan government in Kokkaddicholai, southwest of the eastern town Wednesday.
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"Third force" behind eastern troubles - Minister

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 July 2002, 19:16 GMT]
"The Liberation Tigers have no hand in the recent troubles in the East. They very keenly interested in taking forward the peace process," said Mr. M. H. Mohammed, a veteran Muslim political leader of the ruling United National Party and cabinet minister, at a press conference Tuesday afternoon at his ministry following a tour in the districts of Batticaloa and Ampara during the weekend.
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Sri Lanka opposition exhorts rejection of cease-fire deal

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 July 2002, 18:06 GMT]
Sri Lanka's main opposition parties and several Sinhala nationalist groups held a large public rally of more than five thousand in Colombo Tuesday, condemning peace negotiations between Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesighe's government and the Liberation Tigers as a conspiracy to divide the island. The main speakers at the rally exhorted the Sinhala people to reject the cease-fire agreement between Colombo and the LTTE.
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Village rejects SLA school offer

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 July 2002, 04:55 GMT]
The people of Morakkoddanchenai, 26 kilometres north of Batticaloa, Monday rejected an offer by the Sri Lanka army to construct a new building for the village children's education instead of vacating the local school under the terms of Colombo's cease-fire agreement with the Liberation Tigers in February this year. The SLA has been occupying the Morakkoddanchenai Government Tamil Mixed School, public market, post office, library, village council, the local temple and scores of private homes in the heart of the village for more than 12 years.
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HRC inquiry into Mutur troubles

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 July 2002, 02:08 GMT]
Officials from the Human Rights Commission (HRC) held discussions Monday in Trincomalee with police officials, members of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and civil authorities regarding the destruction of the Liberation Tigers’ political office in Mutur area and the communal violence that followed. The meeting was held at the regional office of the HRC, sources said.
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SLMM head to visit Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 July 2002, 02:04 GMT]
The Norwegian head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Major General (Retd.) Trond Furuhovde will visit Trincomalee for two days. He is scheduled to meet representatives of several organisations at the Trincomalee office of the SLMM Wednesday, and the LTTE leaders at Sampoor in Mutur east Thursday, sources said.
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Black Tiger day marked at site of first attack

[TamilNet, Saturday, 06 July 2002, 01:40 GMT]
Over five thousand people gathered in Nelliady in the Jaffna peninsula Friday to mark Black Tigers day - the first time the event had been held here since 1995. July 5 is the anniversary of the death of the first Black Tiger, Captain Miller, who was killed destroying a Sri Lanka Army base located in the Nelliady Madhya Maha Vidiyalyam - the site of the commemoration this Friday. His mother was amongst those who paid their respects to fallen Black Tigers.
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'Military testing our patience' -Trinco LTTE

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 July 2002, 12:42 GMT]
"The Sri Lankan security forces test our patience frequently. But we won't violate the cease-fire agreement signed by our leader with the Sri Lankan government. At the same time we will not do anything that will derail the ceasefire agreement," said Ms Krishna, Trincomalee district women wing secretary of the Liberation Tigers presiding over the events to mark Black Tigers Day in Trincomalee town Friday evening.
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