Time for donors to provide direct aid to NorthEast- Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 August 2005, 11:20 GMT]
"Time has come for the International Community to provide direct aid to the Tamil homeland without waiting for Colombo," LTTE's Political Head Mr. Thamilchelvan told reporters in Kilinochchi after a meeting with the Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Vidar Helgesen and his delegation at LTTE's Peace Secretariat on Friday. "Joint Mechanism to deliver tsunami aid has been scuttled, internally displaced people continue to suffer due to Colombo's denial to let them return to their homes, and the Cease Fire Agreement is severely threatened by Colombo's shadow war using paramilitary groups in the East. The patience of the Tamil people is running out," Mr. Thamilchelvan told the press.
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P-TOMS Court action, a true tragedy - Prof Plate

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 July 2005, 15:52 GMT]
Expressing his view that that the stay order by Sri Lanka's Supreme Court suspending four key provisions of the Post Tsunami Operational Management Structure (P-TOMS) "a true tragedy," Prof Tom Plate of University of California, Los Angeles, told TamilNet that he is optimistic that aid dollars will still go to NorthEast.
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Kumaratunge meets Tokyo co-chairs

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 July 2005, 15:09 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga met with diplomatic representatives of the four Co-Chairs of the Tokyo Donor Conference Monday to discuss the current state of the peace process and the status of the CeaseFire Agreement (CFA), a media release issued by SL President's Office said. On 15 July the co-chairs issued a statement expressing alarm at the escalating violence, and called on the LTTE to stop killings, and the Government of Sri Lanka to disarm all paramilitaries and to guarantee security to unarmed LTTE cadres.
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P-TOMS to be debated in SL parliament

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 July 2005, 16:58 GMT]
A debate on P-TOMS signed by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is scheduled for August 11 and 12 in Sri Lanka Parliament, political sources said. The decision was taken at the party leaders meeting held Tuesday evening with the Speaker Mr.W.M.J.Lokkubandara in the chair.
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Colombo's political drama shatters hopes for peace- LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 July 2005, 03:14 GMT]
"As Tamil people have repeatedly witnessed in their tortuous history of the past several decades, Colombo has shown its reluctance to provide remedies to Tamil people even after humanitarian disasters of colossal proportions. Sinhala leaders under severe international pressure, signed the deal after dragging for six long months, the Sinhala chauvinists then staged protests to derail the deal, and when all techniques were exhausted Sinhala nationalists engaged the willing apex court to use constitutional reasoning to scuttle the deal," said S P Thamilchelvan after a 4-hour long meeting with the TNA leaders in Kilinochchi Sunday.
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LTTE responds to GoSL proposals, calls for immediate action

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 July 2005, 06:58 GMT]
In a letter addressed to Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) on Friday, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, Political Head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eealm (LTTE), rejected the conditions stipulated by Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) restricting the number of journeys and the number of persons. The letter said that the GoSL has the responsibility to ensure the safety of LTTE's unarmed members in military controlled areas and urged that the proposals sent to GoSL on 30 June 2005 need to be accepted in full in order to ensure safe travel of their cadres. It further said that the time frame set by the LTTE was consequent to the long delay incurred.
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Sri Lanka's Supreme Court issues stay order against P-TOMS

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 July 2005, 06:24 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Supreme Court (SC) Friday issued a stay order on four main points of the Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure (P-TOMS) signed between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), legal sources said. Fund management, location of Regional Committee in Kilinochchi, Project approval and implementation issues in Regional Committees are the issues being mentioned in the stay order, according to the information available at the moment. The marxist Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the Buddhist Sinhala nationalist JHU filed cases seeking the Court to make P-TOMS null and void.
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"No international legal action on SSCP project"- Kadirgamar

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 July 2005, 10:41 GMT]
Sri Lankan government has rejected a suggestion to take up the controversial Sethusamudram Canal Project (SSCP) to the International Court of Justice. "With regard to the reference made by a parliamentarian to possible international legal action, it must be said that at this point it is some what premature and remains in the realm of possibility. This is so because the Indian authorities at the highest level have indicated that they will co-operate with us and we hope they would agree to joint monitoring and assessment of any adverse implications,"said Mr.Lakshman Kadirgamar, Foreign Minister in a seven-page statement on the SSCP in parliament Thursday evening, parliamentary sources said.


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SL Parliament approves Terrorist Financing Suppression Bill

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 July 2005, 11:11 GMT]
Sri Lanka's parliament Thursday adopted the Draft Bill to give effect to the Convention on the Suppression of Terrorist Financing with a majority of sixty votes, 81 parliamentarians including ruling party, United peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), main opposition United national Party (UNP), National Unity Alliance (NUA), Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the four dissidents of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) voted for the bill. 21 parliamentarians including 20 Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MPs and one UNP MP Mr.T.Maheswaran voted against the bill. parliamentary sources said.
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SC to hold inquiry on JVP's petition against P-TOMS

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 July 2005, 21:03 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Supreme Court Wednesday decided to hold inquiry into the petition filed by thirty-nine parliamentarians of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) against the P-TOMS signed by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on July 12 but refused to issue interim injunction to the stop the implementation of the P-TOMS, legal sources said.


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Sri Lanka parliament to hold debate on P-TOMS

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 July 2005, 07:02 GMT]
Sri Lanka's parliament is to hold two-day debate on the P-TOMS signed by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The dates for the debate will be fixed at the party leaders' meeting to be held later, Speaker Mr. W.M.J.Lokkubandara announced Tuesday in parliament.
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LTTE issues 2 weeks ultimatum for ensuring travel safety

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 June 2005, 09:05 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Thursday in a crucial meeting with members of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) demanded that the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) should provide a clear response on procedures to ensure safety of travel for LTTE cadres in the east. Head of LTTE Political Wing told Scandinavian delegation that Tigers will resume their own armed escort if the GoSL fails to provide satisfactory response within two weeks, sources from Vanni said.
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Hisbullah resigns from Aviation Board in protest of P-TOMS

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 June 2005, 10:48 GMT]
Mr M S M Hisbullah, Senior Deputy Leader of the National Unity Alliance (NUA), led by Ms Ferial Ashraff and a close ally of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government resigned Sunday from the post of Chairman of the Civil Aviation Services Board. Mr Hisbullah did not specify the reason in his resignation letter. However, at a press briefing held in his hometown Kattankudi in the Batticaloa district, Mr.Hisbullah stated that the Muslims have not been provided due place in the post-tsunami administrative structure in P-TOMS signed by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
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Vigilance vital to reap benefits from aid deal- paper

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 June 2005, 01:30 GMT]
Calling on the Tamil people to temper the euphoria related to the successful signing of the post-tsunami aid deal by the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers (LTTE) on Friday, popular dailies in Jaffna in editorials Saturday cautioned the NorthEast residents that serious challenges still remain in enforcing the agreement and to be vigilant against being misled.
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EU reiterates pledge to support Trust Fund

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 June 2005, 12:15 GMT]
Welcoming the aid deal between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the European Union (EU) confirmed on Saturday its readiness to assist the parties in setting up the post-tsunami joint administrative structure and to make it work. The European Union also reiterated its pledge to commit substantial contribution to the Trust Fund set up for financing projects selected for implementation by the three tiered adminstrative committee.
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GoSL, LTTE sign P-TOMS

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 June 2005, 09:05 GMT]
Norwegian facilitators, Friday noon reached Kilinochchi with the signature of Mr. Mudiyanselage Sumanaweera Jayasinghe, Secretary of Ministry of Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconciliation, who signed on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure (P-TOMS) sources in Colombo said. Mr. Shanmugalingam Ranjan, Deputy Head of Planning and Development Secretariat (PDS) on behalf of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) signed the MoU, after the Government representative had signed the treaty, sources in Kilinochchi said.
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JM to be tabled in Parliament on Friday

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 June 2005, 07:11 GMT]
"The joint mechanism proposal will be tabled in Parliament Friday. A debate on the JM will be following thereafter. The Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) will not sign the Joint Mechanism agreement before tabling it in parliament," said Minister Mr Maithiripala Sirisena, Leader of the House, Thursday in parliament in reply to a point of order raised by Mr Wimal Weeravanse, the JVP parliamentary group leader. Heated argument ensued between the JVP and SLFP parliamentarians.
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Muslim Clerics meet SL President, voice concerns on aid deal

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 June 2005, 11:52 GMT]
Senior Muslim clergymen from Batticaloa, Amparai and Trincomalee districts met with Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge Tuesday and insisted that "the Muslim community be allowed to participate in the reconstruction of tsunami-affected areas through their representatives," according to a media release issued by the Office of the President Tuesday.
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Amnesty condemns rights violations by GoSL, LTTE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 June 2005, 20:20 GMT]
Amnesty International accused the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) of torture in police custody, continued impunity for security forces against rights violations and for the presence of threat to religious minorities, in its report covering events from January to December 2004. Amnesty drew attention to the "dramatic increase in politically motivated killings," after renegade commander Muralitharan's split and accused the LTTE of continued recruitment of children, acknowledging the LTTE released "large number of child soldiers...."
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Token fast held in Trinco in support of aid deal

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 June 2005, 12:37 GMT]
One-day token fast was held in Trincomalee town Monday from morning till evening demanding the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) to sign the joint mechanism with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to facilitate the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the tsunami destroyed coastal areas in the northeast province without any delay. Trincomalee District Tamil Peoples Forum (TDTPF) organized the event.
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