World recognizes Tamils' struggle- Elilan

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 June 2004, 10:13 GMT]
"Brussels aid conference has told the Sri Lankan government to commence peace talks immediately with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) if the 4.5 billion dollars aid pledged in Tokyo is to be disbursed for development. This clearly shows that the international community has understood and accepted our freedom struggle," said the LTTE Trincomalee district political head Mr.S.Elilan addressing the inaugural meeting of Anna Fisheries Development Organization in Paththamkurichchy (Division No: 10), a suburb in the heart of Trincomalee, Wednesday morning.


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Solheim meets Kumaratunge, sides no closer to agreement

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 May 2004, 01:42 GMT]
Sri Lanka President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge Thursday evening held two hour long discussion with the visiting Norwegian special peace envoy Mr. Erik Solheim on the prospects of holding peace talks. Sri Lanka Government and the Liberation Tigers are not close to an agreement on the time and modality of resuming the peace process, political sources in Colombo said.
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"Institutionalize ISGA, core issues can be discussed later " - LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 May 2004, 08:28 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Wednesday categorically told the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government through Norwegian facilitators that the institutionalization of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) in the northeast province should take place first and that the core issues can be discussed later.
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Divided Sinhala leadership poses danger to peace process- TNA

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 May 2004, 23:25 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Sunday expressed pessimism that it would be difficult to find a lasting political solution to the ethnic conflict through negotiations as the Sinhala political leadership is sharply divided on the question of resuming peace talks on the basis of Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) put forward by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).


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"ISGA the base for future peace talks" - Akashi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 May 2004, 15:29 GMT]
"The future peace talks between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam will be based on the Interim Self Governing Authority proposals submitted by the LTTE," said the Japanese special peace envoy, Mr.Yasushi Akashi, addressing a press conference Wednesday afternoon at the Colombo Hilton Hotel concluding his five-day visit to Sri Lanka.
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Tie aid to ISGA progress, Sampanthan tells Akashi

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 May 2004, 12:15 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary group leader Mr.R.Sampanthan Sunday told the Japanese special peace envoy Mr.Yasushi Akashi that flow of foreign aid to Sri Lanka should depend on the progress made in establishing the Internal Self Governing Authority (ISGA) in northeast province. Mr.Sampanthan met with Mr. Akashi in the Japanese embassy in Colombo Sunday morning and held more than an hour long discussion on the current political situation in Sri Lanka, TNA sources said.


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Christina Rocca meets TNA delegation

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 May 2004, 11:01 GMT]
"The international community should tell publicly to the Sri Lankan government that it would not prevent Tamils going in their own way to achieve their rights if Sinhala leaders fail to political solution to meet their legitimate aspirations. This will contribute to the success of the current peace process in finding a lasting political solution," Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary group leader Mr.R.Sampanthan Friday appealed to Ms Christina Rocca, US State Department Assistant Secretary for South Asian Affairs Friday, sources said.
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‘Let’s discuss ISGA first’, LTTE tells Kumaratunga

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 May 2004, 13:12 GMT]
Mr. Anton Balasingham, political advisor to the Liberation Tigers said Tuesday that the LTTE have suggested that their proposal for an Interim Self Governing Authority should be taken up for negotiations first, responding to a suggestion by the Sri Lankan President conveyed through the Norwegian foreign minister to the LTTE leadership Tuesday that there should be parallel talks towards a permanent settlement to the island’s ethnic conflict. He said that President Kumaratunga has accepted the LTTE as the sole representatives of the Tamil people.
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JVP opposed to UPFA’s decision to talk only with LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 May 2004, 16:58 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s United People’s Freedom Alliance, led by President Chandrika Kumaratunge, in a statement Sunday said that the UPFA government would hold peace talks only with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, thus conceding the LTTE’s demand to be recognized as the ‘sole representatives’ of the Tamil people, according to wire reports. The Marxist and ultra-nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, one of the main constituents of the UPFA, has however announced it is opposed to the decision, Tamil press reports said.
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"ISGA needed as confidence building measure for final solution" - Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 May 2004, 17:09 GMT]
"The establishment of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) in the northeast province is urgently needed as a confidence building measure to take forward the peace process to achieve a final and lasting political solution to the Tamil national question," said the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary group leader and Trincomalee district parliamentarian Mr.R.Sampanthan addressing a public meeting attended by Tamil people of Kanthalai.
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EU urged to suspend aid until ISGA is established

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 May 2004, 00:24 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Thursday appealed to the member countries of the European Union to release their aid to the Sri Lanka government only after the establishment of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) in the northeast province, sources said.


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Sri Lanka's bona fides critical to peace talks- TNA

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 May 2004, 19:21 GMT]
“We are militarily and politically strong that no Sri Lanka Government will be able to deceive the Liberation Tigers (LTTE) or the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) with cosmetic gestures or by engaging us in disingenous peace talks. Our future attitude towards having a constructive dialogue with the Sri Lanka Government depends on its next move towards the peace process," said the TNA parliamentary group leader Mr.R.Sampanthan addressing a large gathering of TNA activists and local leaders held at Trincomalee Hindu Cultural Hall Sunday morning.


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Norwegian Tamils hold May Day in major cities of Norway

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 May 2004, 14:50 GMT]
About two thousand Tamils in Oslo gathered on saturday in their biggest May Day gathering in Oslo ever, carrying Tamil Eelam national flags and banners urging the international community to recognize the Tamil people's right to self-determination. Hundreds of Tamils in other major cities like Bergen and Stavanger also gathered for May Day, sources in Oslo said.
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SL Government assistance to IDPs nil - Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 April 2004, 20:15 GMT]
"I dare say that the [Sri Lankan] government has no right to rule our people as it has failed to provide assistance to hundreds of thousands internally displaced who have been languishing in refugee camps and welfare centres to return to their lands and resettle," said the Tamil National Alliance parliamentary group leader, Mr.R.Sampanthan, addressing a meeting in Kanniya village Monday morning.
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LTTE to await official word from Norway on peace process

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 April 2004, 03:37 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers will inform their stand on resuming the peace process if the Norwegian government officially informs the LTTE about the Sri Lankan government's stand, Mr. Daya Master, the media coordinator of the LTTE, told the Tamil media on Saturday. Meanwhile, sources quoting the Norwegian Embassy in Colombo say a high level delegation of the Norwegian government will visit Colombo in the first week of May to hold discussions with the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE.
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TNA censures SL President over ministerial post to EPDP

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 April 2004, 14:55 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance parliamentary group Friday censured the action of Sri Lanka's President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, in appointing a person rejected by the Tamil people in the April 2nd poll in charge of a ministry important to Tamils, disregarding the overwhelming mandate obtained by the TNA for the establishment of the Interim Self Governing Authority in the Northeast, TNA sources said.
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Geneva Pongu Thamil expects more than 10,000 participants

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 April 2004, 11:08 GMT]
In a press conference held at Hotel Warwich in Geneva at 11.15am today, the organizers of Pongu Thamil (Tamil uprising) said that they expect around 12000 participants in the rally set towards UN Buildings in Geneva from the Railway station of Geneva. Because of the tightened security due to the recent terror-attacks in Europe, the organizers expect delays for participants from various parts of Europe arriving at the venue, sources in Geneva said.
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Thennamaravadi voters return back to Vanni

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 April 2004, 02:16 GMT]
About five hundred displaced Tamil voters of Thennamaravadi village, seventy-three km off north of Trincomalee town Sunday returned to their temporary residence Ponnagar in the Mullaitivu district in the LTTE held Vanni region, after voting in the Friday poll, sources said. The villagers were denied their right to vote for the last two decades.
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"TNA solidly stands behind ISGA"-Sampanthan tells UNF

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 April 2004, 11:19 GMT]
"We have been closely watching the current political situation," Tamil National Alliance leader and the re-elected Trincomalee district parliamentarian Mr.R.Sampanthan told Mr.Bradman Weerakoon, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe in a telephonic conversation initiated by the latter Sunday morning, political sources said.
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Sampanthan urges countries to remove ban on LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 March 2004, 17:05 GMT]
"The ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is still in force in some countries. The verdict of the Tamil people in the northeast province in the April 2nd poll should tell these countries that time has come for them to lift the ban on the LTTE as they have been fully backing the LTTE and its Interim Self-Governing Authority proposal," said Mr.R.Sampanthan, leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the lead candidate of the TNA in the Trincomalee district, ddressing a series of election meeting from morning till late in the night on Sunday.
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