Remembrance day for slain students held in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 February 2006, 16:30 GMT]
Forty-fifth day remembrance of five Tamil students shot dead by State armed forces in execution style close to the Trincomalee beach on January 2nd this year was held at the same location Wednesday morning attended by large number of students, parents, teachers and members of public. The Trincomalee District Tamil Peoples' Forum and Students' Association organized the event, sources in Trincomalee said.
Full story >>

TNA, UPFA, SLMC to contest Mannar local council elections

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 February 2006, 16:27 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) Wednesday submitted its nomination list to contest the Musali pradesiya Sabah in the Mannar district. Meanwhile the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) has decided to contest all the five local authorities in the Mannar district in the forthcoming local council election, sources said.
Full story >>

TNA submits nominations for Trinco local poll

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 February 2006, 12:06 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Wednesday morning submitted nomination lists to contest eleven local authorities out of thirteen in the Trincomalee district in the forthcoming local elections. Mr.K.Thurairatnasingham, Trincomalee district parliamentarian handed over the nomination lists to the District returning Officer Mr.Bandara Mapa at the latter's office, sources said.
Full story >>

Tigers respond to Rajapakse's statement

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 February 2006, 09:47 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, on Wednesday, responded to SL President Mahinda Rajapakse's recent interview where he rejected the Tamil call for self-rule. "Homeland, nationhood and self-rule are the three basic and cardinal principles," that have been guiding the LTTE in its struggle to find a peacefully negotiated political arrangement, a statement from the LTTE reiterated. If Colombo adopts a political stand ruling out the Tamil homeland concept and insists on a resolution to conflict within the "Sinhala" constitution, the LTTE would be left with "no alternative other than to endeavour hard to respond effectively to the Tamil call for self rule," the statement said.
Full story >>

Major political parties to file nominations Wednesday

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 February 2006, 15:59 GMT]
Major political parties, the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), main opposition United National Party (UNP), Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), and Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) are to submit their nomination lists from Wednesday to contest the 330 local authorities, which include 18 municipal councils, 42 urban councils and 270 pradesiya sabahs, election department sources said.
Full story >>

Peace delegation Muslim representative still to be appointed

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 February 2006, 15:57 GMT]
Muslim parliamentarians at a meeting held Tuesday in parliamentary complex decided to submit two proposals to President Mahinda Rajapakse on the question of including a Muslim representative in the government delegation, which is to participate in the Geneva talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on February 22 and 23 on strengthening the ceasefire agreement, sources said.
Full story >>

State of Emergency extended till March 7

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 February 2006, 15:53 GMT]
Sri Lankan parliament Tuesday extended the State of Emergency for another month till March 7. Mr.Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Prime Minister and the Deputy Defense Minister moved the extension motion when the parliament resumed its sitting Tuesday. The State of Emergency was declared last year on August 13, the day after Mr.Lakshman Kadirgamar, Foreign Minister was assassinated at his residence in Colombo. Since then the State of Emergency has been extended every month with the approval of the parliament, sources said.
Full story >>

No Tamil Eelam, only devolution within Unitary State- Rajapakse

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 February 2006, 12:57 GMT]
Ruling out demands by the Liberation Tigers for a separate homeland in the NorthEast, Sri Lanka's President Rajapakse in an interview with Reuters ahead of Geneva talks said, "This is a small country, where you can't have two states. I won't allow the country to be divided," he added. "You have to give up the concept of having two nations, or two countries … There is no Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka. There cannot be an Eelam."
Full story >>

Civil society forum appeals for release of TRO workers

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 February 2006, 10:57 GMT]
A Civil Society Forum that included FORUT, Berghof Foundation, INFORM, Inpact, CHA (Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies), and Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), on 10 February passed a resolution appealing to the Sri Lanka government to fully investigate and secure the release of the seven remaining TRO personnel in the custody of the abductors. The group extended their support to the families of those abducted and expressed the wish that their loves ones be returned to them soon, sources said.


Full story >>

Sri Lanka Muslims demand separate delegation in peace talks

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 February 2006, 17:41 GMT]
The Muslim Peace Secretariat (MPS) Tuesday made an appeal that a separate Muslim delegation should be allowed not only to participate in the Geneva peace talks between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) scheduled to be held in February 22 and 23 but also in the future talks on resolving the national conflict, media sources said.
Full story >>

TNA to contest local council poll in Mannar district

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 February 2006, 12:01 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is to contest all the five local authorities, one urban council ( UC ) four pradesiya sabahs (PS), in the Mannar administrative district in the forthcoming local election, Mr.S.Vinoharathalingam, Wanni district TNA parliamentarian said Monday.
Full story >>

TNA MPs to boycott parliament proceedings

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 February 2006, 11:37 GMT]
Mavai Senathirajah, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian for Jaffna district, told TamilNet Monday that all TNA parliamentarians, as part of the on-going protest against escalating violence in NorthEast, will abstain from participating in parliamentatry proceedings this week.
Full story >>

UNICEF welcomes sharp decline in under-age youths joining LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 February 2006, 00:46 GMT]
UNICEF representatives expressed satisfaction in the sharp decline of the number of under-age youths joining the ranks of the Liberation Tigers after the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, during a meeting held with the LTTE's Child Protection Unit at the LTTE Peace Secretariat building Sunday, LTTE officials said.
Full story >>

Tamil educators honored in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 February 2006, 16:33 GMT]
Mr.E.J.Satkunarajah, former Secretary to the North East Provincial Education Ministry and who rendered valuable service for the development of the science education in the province and Mr.S.Kathirgamathamby, retired Principal of Chenaiyoor Central College in Muttur east who contributed his teaching career for the education development of rural students were honored at an event held Sunday evening at Trincomalee Vikneswara Maha Vidiyalayam. Trincomalee District Student Examination Centre organized the event, sources said.
Full story >>

Red Cross constructs permanent houses for Trinco tsunami victims

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 February 2006, 16:30 GMT]
Mr.S.Nimalkumar, National Secretary of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) Sunday morning laid the foundation stone for a permanent housing project for tsunami affected Sinhalese families in the Trincomalee town and its suburbs at Sumedhankarapura, located at 5th Mile Post along Trincomalee-Kandy highway. The Japan Red Cross Society (JRCS) has been funding three permanent housing projects for tsunami affected families through the Trincomalee district SLRCS, SLRCS sources said.
Full story >>

TNA to contest eleven local councils in Trinco district

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 February 2006, 16:27 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is to contest eleven of thirteen local authorities in the Trincomalee administrative district in the forthcoming election to local councils. TNA will submit nomination lists for two urban councils (UC) and nine pradesiya sabahs (PS) under the election symbol, House, of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchchi (ITAK), TNA sources said.
Full story >>

Swedish Tamils assist Muttur children's home

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 February 2006, 02:05 GMT]
Expatriate Tamils' Consortium in Sweden has provided financial assistance for the Mother Sarathathevi Girls Home in Mallikaitivu village in the Muttur division as part of an ongoing effort to support assist the administration in day to day running of the children's home. The Girls home was founded in 1994 to give shelter to children who lost their parents in the war. Sarathathevi Girls Home currently looks after 30 girls, sources said
Full story >>

Kumarapuram massacre victims remembered

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 February 2006, 17:06 GMT]
People of Kumarapuram, a village in Killiveddy area, Saturday observed the 10th death anniversary of twenty four Tamil civilians, including children massacred by a group of soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army ( SLA ) on 11th February 1996. Thirty Tamil villagers were seriously injured in the incident. Kumarapuram, which lies about 32 km south of Trincomalee town by sea, comes under the administrative limit of the Muttur Divisional Secretariat.
Full story >>

Minister assures phased troop reduction near NorthEast schools

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 February 2006, 13:54 GMT]
Mr. Susil Premajayanth, Minister of Education, at a meeting with a Ceylon Tamil Teachers Union (CTTU) delegation held Thursday evening at his ministry office in Colombo, assured the CTTU officials that he would take action to reduce the presence of State armed forces and sentry points from the vicinity of schools in the North East in stages. He said that Sri Lanka government has to implement any changes regarding SLA troops without provoking the extreme elements in the South, CTTU officials attending the meeting said.
Full story >>

Kidnappers release businessman in Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 February 2006, 09:34 GMT]
The Tamil millionaire businessman Anandan Vadivel, who was kidnapped in Colombo on Wednesday, was left at a private hospital by the kidnappers Friday night, family members said.
Full story >>