TNA parliamentarians vote against Foreign Ministry votes

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 December 2004, 16:00 GMT]
Nineteen parliamentarians 17 Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and 2 United National Party (UNP) voted against the votes of the Foreign Ministry when it was put to division Friday after a committee stage debate in parliament Friday. However the Foreign Ministry votes was passed with a majority of 93 votes, 112 voted for it, parliamentary sources said.
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Army imposes new restrictions in Vadamaradchchi

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 December 2004, 14:39 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army has ordered residents of Vadamaradchchi East, which comes under control of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to get passes from the SLA military base located in Palaly to take generators to their villages from the government controlled areas, civil sources complained


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Tamils won’t go against India’s strategic interests - MP

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 December 2004, 14:17 GMT]
‘The desire to draw limits on the Tamils’ right to self-determination makes the Sri Lankan State align itself with any power that is willing to play along, even to the extent of blatantly seeking the interference of super-powers that would compromise, and put in jeopardy, the strategic interests of India’, said Mr. Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, Tamil National Alliance MP for Jaffna, speaking on the committee stage debate on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Parliament Friday. The Tamil people won't allow themselves to be used to upset the strategic balance of South Asia, the MP said.
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Tyronne Fernando to be sworn in as NE Governor

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 December 2004, 12:18 GMT]
Mr.Tyronne Fernando, former Foreign Minister in the earlier United National Front (UNF) government is to be sworn in as fourth Governor of the Tamil dominated North-East Province on Monday, 6th December, before Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge. He was scheduled to take oaths Friday but the event was put off for Monday, provincial council ministry sources said.
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Residential training for Young journalists in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 December 2004, 12:07 GMT]
Opening event of a one week residential training program organized by the Tamil Young Journalists Association of Batticaloa- Amparai started Friday in Batticaloa, sources from the eastern province said. Several senior Tamil journalists gave lectures in their fields of expertise to attending young journalists from the area during the opening day of the event.
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GoSL must start talks based on ISGA- Jaffna NGOs

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 December 2004, 04:22 GMT]
"If peace and goodwill are to prevail, the Government of Sri Lanka should come forward to discuss without delay the Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals put forward by the LTTE. The proposals represent the collective will of all NorthEast Tamils," said Rev. Father Jeyakumar on behalf of the consortium of NGOs at a meeting held Monday in Nallur, Jaffna. Academics from the South who were on a fact finding mission to Jaffna also participated in the meeting.
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Minority Rights Conference focusses on Upcountry Tamil issues

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 December 2004, 00:43 GMT]
"Upcountry Tamils are a severely disadvantaged minority group in Sri Lanka. Tamils have suffered discrimination from pre-independence time through 20 years of war. The Asian regional minority groups and other minority groups worldwide must join hands to win the rights of all affected people in Sri Lanka," said Mr P Sivapragasam, president of the Human Development Organization, addressing an International Conference on "Asian Minorities and their Development" organized by the Committee on Minorities of the UN held at the Hilltop Hotel in Kandy between 21st and 29th November, sources said.
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LTTE cadre dies of old battle injury

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 December 2004, 18:29 GMT]
Captain Kadalventhan (Jeyasena Gemini) who sustained injuries in the attack on Vavuniya-Irambaikulam army camp in 1997 and was being treated for the last seven years died on November 28, sources in Vanni said. His body was buried with full military honours on 1st December Wednesday in the Chatty LTTE martyrs cemetery in Kayts in Jaffna district.


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Army, Police, LTTE meet in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 December 2004, 14:55 GMT]
Representatives of the Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Police and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Trincomalee district Thursday agreed at a discussion held in the presence of monitors of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) to take steps to diffuse tension in the east port town and its suburbs to restore normalcy. The discussion was held at the SLMM office in Trincomalee at the initiative of the SLMM, sources said.
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"Colombo should stop elements inciting violence"- Thamilchelvan tells Brattskar

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 December 2004, 14:19 GMT]
"Incidents of violence in Trincomalee and elsewhere are the result of provocative actions of disruptive elements should be controlled by the government since they tend to create tension leading to public rioting" S.P. Thamilchelvan, Head of Liberation Tigers Political Wing told the Norwegian Ambassador Mr. Hans Brattskar in a meeting held at the LTTE Peace Secretariat in Kilinochchi. Thursday, sources from Vanni said.
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"Impending disaster is SL President's own making"- Jaffna daily

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 December 2004, 12:50 GMT]
''Sri Lanka's President Ms Kumaratunge has brought to the forefront of political influence ultra Sinhala Buddhist elements with the idea of seizing political power at no less a time when the onus of compulsive responsibility of finding solution to the ethnic problem stood cast on the government of Sri Lanka. It is Ms Kumaratunge who will have to singly take the blame if the present peace efforts fail owing to the hysteria unleashed by the chauvinistic forces whom she had elevated to the high plain of political influence,'' said popular Jaffna daily Uthayan in its Thursday editorial.
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Muzzling Parliamentary Speech will further estrangement- Premachandran

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 December 2004, 12:18 GMT]
''Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MPs participate in the Parliamentary procedures only because of their desire to promote amity between the two polarized peoples in Sri Lanka. But if the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and the opposition United National Party (UNP) members join forces to restrain free speech then it will be another step towards encouraging division of Sri Lanka,'' said Suresh Premachandran responding to attempts to curb privileges of TNA MPs in Sri Lanka's Parliament Wednesday, parliamentary sources in Colombo said.
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Mannar, Vavuniya to observe general shutdown

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 December 2004, 17:00 GMT]
NorthEast Civil Society Forums appealed to businesses and residents fo districts of Vavuniya and Mannar to observe general shutdown Thursday in protest against the killings of two innocent Tamil youths in Valvettithurai in Jaffna, and assaults on members of public including one Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian during the Heroes Day celebrations, civil sources said.
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TNA appeals to India not to harm peace efforts

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 December 2004, 14:33 GMT]
''The prime need in Sri Lanka, today, is the peaceful resolution of the Tamil question. The Tamil people are confident that India will not act in a manner harmful to Tamil interests. The Tamil people appeal to Indian government that the conclusion of the Indo-Sri Lanka defence co-operation agreement, and the commencement of development activities in the North-East with the military dimension be not proceeded with, '' said a press release issued by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Wednesday.
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Srimani Athulathmudali dies

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 December 2004, 14:16 GMT]
Former Minister of Transport, environment and Women Affairs and wife of late Lalith Athulathmudali died after a brief illnesss in Colombo, media reports in Colombo said.
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Karuna kidnapped ENDLF secretary claims mother

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 November 2004, 16:47 GMT]
The mother of Mr. Pakkiyanathan Rajaratnam, 51, the secretary of the ENDLF, a Sri Lankan Tamil paramilitary based in South India, complained to the Human Rights Commission in Jaffna that her son has allegedly been kidnapped by the 'Karuna Group'. Mr. Rajaratnam alias Mano Master has been reported missing since last Thursday. Police are still investigating his whereabouts.
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Police re-imposes curfew in Trincomalee town

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 November 2004, 15:50 GMT]
Although there were no violent incidents, the Police Tuesday re-imposed curfew in Trincomalee and Uppuveli police divisions from 5 p.m. till 6 a.m. Wednesday as a preventive measure, police sources said.
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'State your stand', Tamil MP tells President, JVP, UNP

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 November 2004, 13:02 GMT]
''Members of the ruling party and media in the South are treating the LTTE leader's speech lightly. He says little but has achieved much. He does what he says. Hence accept his call and resume the peace talks. State your stand on the Tamil question unequivocally. If you do, then we can decide the path we have to take,'' said Mr.Selvarajah Gajendran, Tamil National Alliance MP for Jaffna speaking on the Sri Lankan government budget in Parliament Tuesday.
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President cannot prolong No war, No peace situation - Jaffna Daily

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 November 2004, 10:03 GMT]
''The Sri Lankan President should take urgent and constructive steps if the cease fire agreement is to survive'', said the Jaffna Tamil daily Uthyan in its editorial Monday, commenting on Colombo's stand on the peace process in the aftermath of Great Heroes' Day speech of LTTE leader Mr. Velupillai Pirapaharan. The paper referred to recent statements from the Government prior to the LTTE leader's urgent appeal on Saturday that peace talks should be resumed.
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Southern consensus, a prerequisite to resume talks- Thinakural

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 November 2004, 09:31 GMT]
"Is the Sri Lanka Government, which tells the world that LTTE is unwilling to talk about permanent solution, prepared to talk to the Tigers with clarity of purpose and in one voice? If not, is the government at least prepared to acknowledge that its call for talk on permanent solution is not genuine?" questioned the editorial of the popular Tamil daily Thinakural referring to the annual speech of the LTTE leader.
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