LTTE police stations 'not a new phenomena' - Balasingham

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 December 2002, 15:26 GMT]
The LTTE's Police and law and order systems would not extend into areas controlled by the Sri Lankan government while continuing to maintain law and order in Tiger-controlled areas, Mr. Anton Balasingham, the movement's Chief Negotiator and political advisor told reporters in Oslo Tuesday. He was speaking at a press conference held during lunch on the second day of the third round of peace talks between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government.
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Third round of peace talks open in Oslo

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 December 2002, 16:32 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) began the third round of peace talks to end Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict at the Radisson SAS Plaza Hotel in downtown Oslo Monday afternoon.
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Karuna Oslo bound

[TamilNet, Thursday, 28 November 2002, 12:14 GMT]
Colonel Karuna, Senior Commander of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) took off from Batticaloa in an Sri Lanka Airforce helicopter to Colombo at 9.30 am today on his way to the next round of peace talks between LTTE and Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) to be held in Oslo, Norway 2 December, sources said.
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Karuna joins Tharavai Heroes day event

[TamilNet, Thursday, 28 November 2002, 01:01 GMT]
Special commander of Batticaloa-Ampara district Karuna, who is also the co-chair of the sub-committee on De-escalation and Normalization formed at the second meeting of the first round of peace talks in Thailand, lit the sacrificial flame at the Heroes day event at the Maaveer cemetary in Tharavai, 70km Northwest of Batticaloa town, held 27 November afternoon.
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De-escalation, normalisation district committee meets in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 November 2002, 19:27 GMT]
The first meeting of the Trincomalee District Sub Committee on De-escalation and Normalisation (TDCSDN) was held Thursday at the office of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in the eastern port town. The three hour discussion, observed by the head of the SLMM in Trincomalee, Mr. Jan Ledang, centred on high security zones, resettlement of displaced people and opening of roads now closed for security reasons, sources said.
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‘Col. Karuna’s approach very positive’ -Maj. Gen. Kottegoda

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 November 2002, 13:25 GMT]
“I think Col. Karuna’s approach is very positive. If we continue in this manner we should be able to sort out a lot of issues pertaining to de-escalation and normalisation,” said Maj. Gen. Shantha Kottegoda of the Sri Lanka army, speaking to the press Wednesday at the conclusion of the meeting of the Batticaloa District Committee of the Sub-Committee on De-escalation and Normalisation held in Vavunathivu, 5 kilometres southwest of Batticaloa, near the line of control.
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Kuchchaveli IDPs urge speedy resettlement

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 November 2002, 17:34 GMT]
Hundreds of displaced Tamil families from villages in Kuchchaveli division, 34 km north of the Trincomalee district and now residing in refugee camps elsewhere Sunday said that they should be resettled in their areas without delay and should be provided with necessary facilities. They attended a meeting held Sunday at Kuchchaveli Vivekanandan Maha Vidiyalayam where the resettlement of the displaced and their rehabilitation were discussed.
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Tigers, GOSL optimistic after first defence meet

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 November 2002, 13:39 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers and the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) said they were confident of making further progress in stabilising the island’s peace process on the ground as their high-level defence teams wound up four hours of talks in Omanthai, 18 kilometres north of Vavuniya, on the line of control, Sunday.
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LTTE emphasises cordial relations with Muslims

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 November 2002, 18:21 GMT]
"The Tamil Eelam Police force will function without discriminating against anyone on grounds of religion, ethnicity or creed. Our leadership is firm that there should be cordial relations with the Muslim people in this region. Col. Karuna has sent us specific instructions in this regard from Thailand," said T. Ramesh, the Liberation Tigers‚ special commander for the Batticaloa-Amparai region, addressing the opening ceremony of the Tamil Eelam Police station in Palugamam, 30 kilometres southwest of Batticaloa, Tuesday.
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Long term political matters on Talks agenda

[TamilNet, Sunday, 03 November 2002, 13:58 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL), at the conclusion of the second meeting of the first round of peace talks held in Thailand, agreed to set up a joint task force (JTF) to identify immediate humanitarian and rehabilitation needs of north east, work towards military de-escalation and to look at political questions at the heart of two decades of war. The JTF is first tasked to prepare for a political-level meeting of key government s to take place in Norway on 25 November.
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Karuna and Hakeem to work closely

[TamilNet, Friday, 01 November 2002, 15:27 GMT]
Improving the security situation in the East was a key topic of discussion in the second round of peace talks between the Liberation Tigers (LTTE) and the Government of SriLanka which began on the 31 October in Thailand. "Mr. Hakeem and Mr. Karuna agreed to work together in the east to meet with local communities and address their specific concerns and aspirations, including matters relating to the occupation and cultivation of land," a release from the Norwegian Embassy in Thailand said.
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LTTE, government delegations in Thailand

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 October 2002, 10:35 GMT]
The delegations of the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Wednesday flew in the same plane from Colombo to Thailand to attend the second round of four day peace talks scheduled to commence on October 31, airport sources said.
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Negotiators depart for Thailand Peace Talks

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 October 2002, 11:12 GMT]
Representatives of the Sri Lankan Government, Director of Peace Secretariat Bernard Gunatillake, Major General Shantha Kotegoda, John Gunaratne and Janaka Jeyasekara of the Peace Secrtariat, departed Katunayake airport today, 29 October morning to participate in the second round of peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to be held on the 31st in the city of Nakhon Pathom, 35 miles west of Bangkok, sources said.
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Karuna, Thamilselvan in LTTE team for Thailand - paper

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 October 2002, 01:41 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers have finalised their negotiating team for the second round of direct talks between the movement and the Sri Lankan government scheduled to be held in Thailand next week, the Tamil Guardian newspaper reported this week.
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Tigers escorted SLA troops

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 October 2002, 08:55 GMT]
(News Feature) In a reciprocal gesture to earlier actions by the Sri Lanka Army, cadres of the Liberation Tigers in Batticaloa last Sunday escorted SLA soldiers through areas in which angry Tamil demonstrators had set up road blocks protesting the earlier killings of several civilians by Special Task Force (STF) commandos.
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STF atrocities intended to scuttle peace – Karuna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 October 2002, 11:16 GMT]
“The peace talks in Thailand have created confidence among our fighters and our people. In this context, the actions of the STF are aimed at scuttling the peace talks. Our people have faith in future negotiations. But the STF’s atrocities are sowing doubts and confusion in their minds. However, we are observing the ceasefire with vigilance according to the instructions of our national leader,” Col. Karuna, senior commander of the Liberation Tigers in charge of the Batticaloa Ampara districts, told Maj. Gen. (ret) Trond Furhovde, the head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission.
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ULF supports autonomous region demand

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 September 2002, 13:15 GMT]
"The division of the country is inevitable if the majority Sinhalese fail to accept the concept of an autonomous region for Tamils," said the President of the United Left Front (ULF) Dr.Wickremabahu Karunaratne in an interview with the state run Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) Saturday.


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"Muslims rights should be respected" - Karuna

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 September 2002, 17:15 GMT]
"We must respect the rights of Muslims. We will create an environment where the three communities who live in our area can live in unity. We are not warmongers. We have come forward openly to achieve the legitimate aspirations of Tamils through peaceful negotiations," said a senior commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Colonel Karuna Amman, addressing a large gathering at the concluding event of the fifteenth death anniversary of late LTTE senior commander Lt.Colonel Thileepan Thursday evening held at Vellaveli in the Batticaloa district.


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Sixth Amendment threat looms over peace talks

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 September 2002, 19:08 GMT]
(Newsfeature) President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s People’s Alliance and the Sinhala nationalist Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) vowed Friday to fight the United National Front government for lifting of the ban on the Liberation Tigers. The spokesman for the People’s Alliance Dr. Sarath Amunugama said the party will take legal action and start mass protests against the de-proscription. He was addressing a press conference at the opposition leader’s office in Colombo Friday.
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Peiris to lead Sri Lanka delegation to Thailand

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 August 2002, 18:25 GMT]
"The Thailand peace talks will pave way for permanent peace in Sri Lanka. I will be leading country's delegation to the peace talks scheduled to be held in mid September," said Constitutional Affairs Minister, Professor G.L.Peiris, Sunday. The Minister was addressing after opening the third day of ‘Yuga Thekma’ industrial exhibition in Trincomalee Sunday evening.
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