Muslim delegation meets Col. Karuna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 September 2003, 12:18 GMT]
LTTE’s senior commander for the Batticaloa–Amparai District, Col. V. Karuna, Saturday had discussions with a delegation of Muslim community leaders and civil society activists at ‘Thenaham’ conference center in Karadiyanaaru, 24 kilometres northwest of Batticaloa. “The discussion was a further step in cementing and deepening the traditional bond between Tamils and Muslims in the east,” an LTTE official in Batticaloa said.
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UNICEF's training on mine risk concludes

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 September 2003, 13:47 GMT]
The integrated Training of Trainers under the UNICEF sponsored Mine Risk Education (MRE) programme, which commenced in April this year, concluded Tuesday at the Hotel Club Oceanic in Trincomalee, with the awarding of certificates to participants who are field officers of non-government organizations, the White Pigeon, Sarvodaya and Tamil Refugees Rehabilitation Organization in the northeast province, UNICEF sources said.
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'NE conflict cannot be solved through talks' -Sihala Urumaya

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 September 2003, 14:53 GMT]
At a press briefing held Thursday in Colombo, Mr.Tilak Karunaratne, the General Secretary of the Sinhala extremist political party, Sihala Urumaya (SU), said that in the SU's view, the northeast conflict could not be solved through negotiations, media sources said.
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Col. Karuna meets parents of LTTE martyrs

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 September 2003, 00:30 GMT]
A meeting between the parents martyrs of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and Col. Karuna, the Senior Commander of the LTTE for the Eastern region, took place at ‘Thenaham’ Guest House in Karadiyanaru at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, sources in Batticaloa said.


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Norwegian Ambassador meets LTTE in Karadiyanaaru

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 September 2003, 01:58 GMT]
Norwegian ambassador in Colombo Mr Hans Brattskar met with Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Senior Commander Col.Karuna and other LTTE officers at the Thenaham Guest House in Karadiyanaaru, Batticaloa Monday 7.00 pm, security sources said.
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Workshop on ‘Democratic Youth Leadership’

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 September 2003, 18:22 GMT]
A five day workshop for youths of all parts of the country, including the Northeast province, on the ‘Democratic Youth Leadership’ programme organized by the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI) and sponsored by the National Council of the Swedish Youth Organization (LSU), commenced Monday morning at the Trincomalee-Uppuveli Pastoral Centre.
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Staff struggles as students labor to learn

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 September 2003, 00:04 GMT]
The sight of frolicking school children in clean white, blue uniforms playing inside the fences of Kilinochchi Maha Vidyalayam along the A9 highway provides a sense of normality to a visitor travelling near Kilinochchi town. However, this blurred picture fails to reveal the background of many children who have lost years of schooling due to war, now struggling to fit-in, and more ominously, does not expose the deficient education the school provides due to lack of facilities and shortage of teachers.
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LTTE delegation meets British Tory leaders

[TamilNet, Thursday, 04 September 2003, 17:22 GMT]
The political leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Mr. S.P.Thamilchelvan, met with the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the British Parliament and Shadow Foreign Secretary, Mr. Michael Ancram,M.P., and Lord Ashcroft, the former treasurer of the British Conservative party, in Colombo Thursday shortly after his return from abroad, LTTE peace secretariat sources said.
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LTTE delegation returns home

[TamilNet, Thursday, 04 September 2003, 11:01 GMT]
The delegation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam led by its political wing leader, Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, and comprising Batticaloa-Amparai district special commander Col Karuna and Director of the LTTE Peace Secretariat Mr.Puleedevan returned to Colombo Thursday early morning after about two weeks' stay abroad, where the delegation held extensive discussion with their constitutional and legal experts in the French capital, Paris, sources said.
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LTTE delegation meets Swiss officials

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 02 September 2003, 15:23 GMT]
A delegation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, led by its political wing leader, Mr. S.P. Thamilchelvan and comprising Batticaloa-Ampara Special commander, Col. Karuna, and Director of the LTTE’s Peace Secretariat, Mr. Puleedevan, met with Swiss government officials in Bern, Switzerland, Monday, Tamil media sources said.
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Paris meeting 'Positive and Innovative'

[TamilNet, Saturday, 30 August 2003, 19:54 GMT]
Delegates to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Constitutional Affairs Committee meeting in Paris to prepare a response to the Government of Sri Lanka's (GoSL's) proposal for an Interim Administration to the Northeast described the meeting as "positive and innovative," in a press release issued at the conclusion of the discussions that lasted from 23rd to 26th of August in Paris.


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University non-academic staff strike called off

[TamilNet, Saturday, 30 August 2003, 17:49 GMT]
The non-academic staff of universities in the country Saturday evening decided to call off their three weeks' old strike from Monday as the talks held Saturday between the two ministers, the chairman of the university Grants Commission and representatives of trade union federation concluded with agreements reached on many of the 21 demands put forward by the non-academinc staff, Inter University Trade Union Federation sources said.
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Thamilselvan, Karuna visit Paris memorial of slain activists

[TamilNet, Saturday, 30 August 2003, 13:53 GMT]
Head of the political secion of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), S.P. Thamilselvan and LTTE Senior Commander Karuna, at the conclusion of LTTE Paris-talks Thursday visited the Paris memorials of activists Kandiah Perinpanathan and Kandiah Gajendran who were gun down in La Chappelle, Paris by unknown gunmen on the 26th October 1996, sources said.
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Teleffsen meets with SLA, ex-militants in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 28 August 2003, 11:51 GMT]
The Norwegian head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Major General Triggve Teleffsen travelled to Batticaloa Thursday morning and held discussions with the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) officials and political leaders of ex-militant groups, (SLMM) sources said. The SLMM head is scheduled to meet Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Commander Ramesh this afternoon.
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Solheim, Canadians join as LTTE's Paris meet concludes

[TamilNet, Thursday, 28 August 2003, 01:47 GMT]
Eric Solheim, Norwegian special peace envoy, Lisa Gold of the Royal Norwegian Government, Hon. Bob Rae, former premier Ontario Canada and Prof. David Cameron of Canadian Forum of Federations joined the final day yesterday morning session of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam discussions in Paris, sources close to the LTTE delegation said. The LTTE's Constitutional Affairs Committee is currently meeting in Paris to prepare LTTE's response to the Government of Sri Lanka's (GOSL's) proposal for an Interim Administration for the Northeast.


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GOSL proposal falls way short of aspirations of Tamil people - Thamilselvan

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 August 2003, 11:10 GMT]
"This Paris conference is a victory for our liberation struggle. The GOSL proposal [for an Interim Administration for the Northeast] falls way short of the aspirations of Tamil people. This conference will define a response that reflects the just aspirations of our people," said Mr. S.P. Thamilselvan, head of the political wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, delivering the opening address at the LTTE's conference in Paris which began on the 23rd August.


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LTTE delegation leaves Colombo for Paris talks

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 August 2003, 05:50 GMT]
A high powered delegation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, led by its political head Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, left Colombo by Sri Lankan Air Lines Wednesday early morning around 2 a.m. to Paris in France, sources at the Colombo airport said.
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LTTE delegation to Paris talks arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 August 2003, 14:16 GMT]
A Ten member delegation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, led by its political head Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, arrived in Colombo Thursday afternoon by two special helicopters of the Sri Lanka Air Force from Kilinochchi. The delegation is on its way to participate in "internal talks" in Paris, France, aimed at preparing a response to the Sri Lankan government's interim administration proposals, political sources in Colombo said.
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Tamil medium teachers still receive Sinhala only letters

[TamilNet, Sunday, 17 August 2003, 20:53 GMT]
Tamil medium teachers and principals in Sri Lanka, especially in the northeast province where Tamil is the main medium in schools, are still undergoing untold hardships in transacting official business with the relevant departments as the central ministry of education and other related departments still correspond with them only in the Sinhalese language, the Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union (CTTU)'s General Secretary, Mr.T.Mahasivam, said.
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Puthuvai Ratnathurai's Poem Collection released

[TamilNet, Saturday, 02 August 2003, 01:15 GMT]
A collection of poems, “ Ulaikalam,” written by Poet Puthuvai Ratnathurai, head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Cultural and Arts Department, was released Friday at the Kailasapathy auditorium of the Jaffna University, where a leading political activist of the LTTE, Mr.V.Balakumaran, was the keynote speaker, sources said.
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