CFA flawed, allows Tigers access to SLA areas for political work - Fonseka

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 March 2006, 20:12 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Commander, Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka, at a ceremony held at the Army Headquarters in Colombo Friday said that there are many flaws in the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) signed between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). "The LTTE has exploited these flaws to enter the Sri Lanka government controlled areas to carryout political activities," charged the Sri Lankan commander.
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Hartal paralyzes Trincomalee town

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 March 2006, 19:12 GMT]
Normal life was disrupted in Trincomalee town Friday due to general shut down ('hartal') in response to the Trincomalee District 'Pongu Tamil Forum' (TDPTF) call demanding the government to lift ban on fishing in the northeast coast and to implement the Geneva agreement reached between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
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BoT launches 'Bank at school' in Mallavi

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 March 2006, 12:04 GMT]
"Bank at school saving programme promotes students to start thinking to attain the best economical resources in their future," says K. Blakrishnan, the Managing Director, Bank of Tamileelam (BoT), in his introductory speech on the merits of School Saving Units of the Banks in LTTE administered areas. The BoT ceremoniously opened Thursday the fifth of its Students' Savings Unit, at Mallavi Central College, in the Mullaithivu district.
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LTTE's military strength key to Tamils' future- Theepan

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 March 2006, 11:38 GMT]
Speaking at a sports event commemorating the martyrs of the Special Reconnaissance Wing of the Liberation Tigers Wednesday, in an undisclosed location in Vanni, Northern Region Military Commander, Col.Theepan said, "Tamil peoples' future and victory in the struggle for self-determination are critically dependent on our military strength. Our continued transformation to engage and beat the enemy in all types of warfare is fundamental to our security and to live as a free nation," sources in Vanni said.
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LTTE Sentry Point in Trincomalee ambushed, one dead, two wounded

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 March 2006, 06:03 GMT]
A Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadre was killed and two injured in an attack on the LTTE Forward Defense Line sentry point located in Poonagar in Trincomalee district Thursday around 8 p.m., said LTTE sources in the east. The Tigers charged that the ambushmen had come from the Sri Lanka Army camp in Mahindapura.
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LTTE hands over home guards to Muslim leaders

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 March 2006, 09:18 GMT]
Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Thursday morning handed over the two Muslim home guards to leaders of the Mosques Councils in Muttur and Thoppur. The home guards were arrested by LTTE members when they entered into the Eachchilampathu divisional secretariat division, an area held by the LTTE, on 14 March.
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SLMM Trinco head meets Elilan in Sampoor

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 March 2006, 00:02 GMT]
Mr.Ove Jansen, new head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Trincomalee district, Tuesday morning met with Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and held discussions on the latest volatile situation in the Muttur east coastal villages which were attacked by Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), LTTE sources in the eastern town said.
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Sinhala nationalist extremists obstacle to peace – Balasingham

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 March 2006, 20:21 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers will view any further attacks by military-backed paramilitaries as an act of war and may postpone next month’s talks in Geneva unless the state fulfils the Ceasefire Agreement and disarms them, the LTTE’s Political Strategist and Chief Negotiator, Mr. Anton Balasingham said Tuesday. In an interview to Reuters at his London home, Mr. Balasingham also said President Mahinda Rajapakse should dump his Sinhala nationalist allies and seek support from the main opposition UNP party which led a government that held six rounds of talks with the LTTE in 2002-3.
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Swiss TRO funds housing project in Vakarai

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 March 2006, 16:53 GMT]
Foundation stone was laid for one hundred permanent houses project for tsunami-hit families in Kandalady village in Vakarai Divisional Secretariat Division in Batticaloa district, Wednesday morning. The Swiss Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) has funded the project. The implementing partner is Vakarai TRO. Mr.Christoph Muller, Co-ordinator of the Swiss TRO participated in the event.
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SLA troops threaten students at Annai Poopathy celebrations

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 March 2006, 12:16 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops threatened students at the Jaffna Technical College where celebrations marking Annai Poopathi's anniversary are taking place. More than 300 SLA soldiers who arrived at the Technical College premises at 3 p.m. Wednesday demanded taking down of the Tamileelam National flag which the students hoisted in the morning as part of the celebrations, sources said. Tension prevailed for more than an hour while the students refused to comply with the SLA demands.
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PNM alliance aims to split East from NEP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 March 2006, 11:10 GMT]
The Patriotic National Movement (PNM), an alliance of Sinhala nationalists, on Wednesday formed a "task force" named "Defenders of Eastern People's Rights" in collaboration with Sinhala nationalist parties, Muslim and Tamil groups in the East. The task force was formed after a meeting with the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), MLM Ataulla's National Muslim Congress (NMC), K. Vigneswaran's Akila Ilankai Tamil United Front (AITUF), a break away party of the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), and key operatives of Karuna Group, a PNM activist has disclosed to Colombo media. The task force aims to split the East from the North Eastern Province (NEP).
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Tigers reject Colombo's "pre-conditions" for re-entry of political cadres

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 March 2006, 09:29 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in a letter addressed to the Head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) on Wednesday accused Colombo of imposing pre-conditions for the re-entry of their political cadres into Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled areas in the NorthEast. Rejecting the concept of "new pre-condtions," the Tigers charged Colombo of violating the understanding reached in Geneva in re-establishing the status quo that existed prior to the LTTE decision to withdraw political cadres. The letter, released to media by the LTTE Peace Secretariat, urged the monitors to ensure the conditions for the re-entry of their political cadres in "strict accordance" with the CFA agreement.
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LTTE hands over arrested home guards to Thamileelam Police

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 March 2006, 01:31 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Tuesday afternoon said at a press briefing held in Sampoor that they have handed over to the Thamileelam Police the two home guards who they arrested on March 14 caught riding in a motorcycle inside the LTTE controlled area, The Thamileelam Court in accordance with the normal procedure could release these two home guards, Mr.Sithik Reseen (23) of Valaichchenai and Mr.Haniffa Anzar (30) of Thoppur, LTTE Trincomalee leaders said at the briefing.
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TNA MP condemns SLN attacks on Muttur coastal villages

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 March 2006, 17:55 GMT]
Mr.K.Thurairatnasingham, Trincomalee district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian in a statement issued on Tuesday condemned the continued attack by the Sri Lanka Navy on the coastal villages Soodaikuda, Koonitivu, Sampoor and Kadatkaraichchenai for the second day Tuesday from about 11 a.m. Two students of the Sampoor Maha Vidiyalayam are reported injured in the second day attack by the SLN, according to reports he received from Muttur east civilian sources, Mr.Thurairatnasingham said.
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Emergency Regulations extended

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 March 2006, 13:27 GMT]
Sri Lanka parliament extended the state of emergency Tuesday, parliamentary sources in Colombo said. First imposed after the assassination of its foreign minister six months ago, Emergency Regulations have been extended every month, but the Sri Lanka Government said violence has fallen sharply since talks with Liberation Tigers in February.
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Father of four shot dead in Eravur

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 March 2006, 07:03 GMT]
Unidentified gunman shot and killed a Tamil man with T-56 assault riffle at Iyankerny in Eravur, 14 km. north of Batticaloa, around 9.30 p.m., Monday, police said.
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Ilamparithi details SLA's CFA violations to SLMM

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 March 2006, 02:12 GMT]
Violations of the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) by Sri Lanka Armed forces after the February Geneva talks were pointed out to the officials of the Jaffna Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) when Jaffna district Political Head of the LTTE, Mr. C. Ilamparuthi, met the SLMM officials Monday 10 a.m at the LTTE Jaffna district Political Secretariat in Pallai, sources said.
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Local elections in Trincomalee, Amparai to be held

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 March 2006, 19:27 GMT]
Elections to 12 local authorities in Trincomalee district and 17 in the Amparai district are to be held on March 30. Elections to forty-six local authorities in the other six districts of Jaffna, Killinochchi, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya, Mannar and Batticaloa in the North East are to be postponed by six months, Colombo media sources reported Monday evening quoting an official of the Department of Elections.
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TRO assists Mullaitivu child's heart surgery

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 March 2006, 11:48 GMT]
Tamil Rehabilitation Organization Monday donated Rs 45,000 towards heart surgery expenses for Saruaka, an eight month old ailing baby from Silavattai in Mullaitivu district, sources in Vanni said. The surgery is to be performed at the Colombo Jayawardenepura Hospital, medical sources in Vanni said.
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SLN attacks Muttur east coastal villages -Elilan

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 March 2006, 08:32 GMT]
A Dvora and two water jets of the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) have been firing towards the coastal villages Sampoor, Soodaikuda, Koonitivu and Kadatkaraichchenai in the Liberation Tigers held Muttur east in the Trincomalee district from Monday morning around 11 a.m. "Firing is still going on with interruptions and several civilian houses have been damaged. Casualties are not known as it was early to assess the loss of lives and other damages," said Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
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