President's intentions not translated into action - LTTE

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 September 2004, 12:45 GMT]
LTTE Political Wing in a press release Sunday accused the President Chandrika Kumaratunga of being responsible for the delay in restarting the peace process. The intentions of the President who "expressed her interest in restarting the peace process", were "not translated into action" said the Press Release. The recent statement of the President is "far from the truth and is totally disappointing" said the Press Release.
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Provincial Folk Dance festival held in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 September 2004, 10:41 GMT]
Northeast Provincial Folk Dance Festival was held Saturday evening in Trincomalee St.Mary's College Therese Auditorium under the auspices of Provincial Department of Education. Schools which won the district level competitions participated in the provincial level final competitions held Saturday morning and the winners were awarded prizes and certificates in the Folk Dance Festival held later the same day.
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Rebuilding of Achchuveli Industrial Estate urged

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 September 2004, 02:16 GMT]
Jaffna District Co-ordinating Committee (JDCC) Saturday urged the Government of Sri Lanka to reconstruct the war destroyed Industrial Estate located in Achchuveli in Jaffna district. JDCC said that rehabilitation would enable Jaffna residents to regain the lost economic benefits and would increase job prospects for unemployed youths.
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Rising law, order needs necessitate expansion- Nadesan

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 September 2004, 01:21 GMT]
"Our people have full confidence in Thamileelam Police and want us to maintain law and order in as many areas of NorthEast as possible. They feel safe when the law enforcement authority is in the hands of our police officers. The objective of Thamileelam Police is not only to maintain law and order but also to work for the general welfare of the Tamil people," said Mr. P.Nadesan, Head of the Thamileelam Police Service, when TamilNet spoke to him Friday.
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TRO supplies tractors to Killinochchi NGOs

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 September 2004, 15:39 GMT]
Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) under its Accelerated Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Development Project Saturday handed over seven tractors on a loan scheme through Killinochchi Social Economic Development Bank (KSEDB) to local non-governmental organizations to strengthen their activities in the region.
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Sri Lanka Police chief urged to stop drug smuggling in Mannar

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 September 2004, 13:10 GMT]
Mannar Bishop Rt. Rev. Rayappu Joseph Saturday urged Sri Lanka's Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Indra Silva, to urgently start a special Police division to curb rampant heroin smuggling in the district. Mr.Indra Silva is the first IGP of Sri Lanka to visit Mannar in 30 years. He paid a courtsey call on the Bishop during an official visit to Mannar Saturday. Mannar has emerged as a major transit point for drug smuggling from India to Sri Lanka after Colombo signed a cease fire agreement with the Liberation Tigers in 2002.
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Solheim meets Sri Lanka's Opposition Leader

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 September 2004, 03:10 GMT]
Norwegian special peace envoy Mr. Erik Solheim met with the Opposition Leader and former Prime Minister, Mr.Ranil Wickremesinghe, at the latter's official residence Friday evening, on the eve of his departure after a five day stay in Sri Lanka, sources said.
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India to declare Tamil as classical language

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 September 2004, 02:45 GMT]
The Indian Union Cabinet, which met on Friday morning, decided to declare Tamil a "classical language," Press Trust of India (PTI) reported Friday. The declaration comes after years of lobbying by Tamil scholars including Prof. George Hart, Professor of Tamil, University of California, who wrote in April 2000, "To deny that Tamil is a classical language is to deny a vital and central part of the greatness and richness of Indian culture."
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Sinhala journalists visit Jaffna IDP families

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 September 2004, 15:27 GMT]
A group of Sinhala journalists Friday visited several welfare centres in the Jaffna district where large number of internally displaced families (IDP) are given shelter and inquired from them their difficulties living as refugees, civil group sources said.
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Solheim discusses peace impasse with editors

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 September 2004, 10:59 GMT]
Norway's special peace envoy Mr. Eric Solheim Friday had discussions with editors of the Sinhala dailies Lankadeepa and and Lakbima and the Tamil dailies Thinakkural and Sudar Oli about the current peace impasse in Sri Lanka. He said that he was unable to meet the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), President Kumaratunga's main coalition partner that is stridently opposing peace talks with the Liberation Tigers.
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UK martial art expert to teach in Kilinochchi orphanage

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 September 2004, 00:02 GMT]
Leigh Smith, a top martial art specialist from Rochdale, Manchester, United Kingdom is visiting Kilinochchi on 26 September on the invitation of Karate Grand master Bonnie Roberts to teach in a Kilinochchi orphanage, Rochdale county paper in UK reported.
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Tamil Language Festival to be held in Trinco

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 September 2004, 15:26 GMT]
North East Provincial Tamil Language Festival for Tamil medium schools in the province is to be held on September 18 and 19 in Trincomalee St.Mary's College Theresa Auditorium. Provincial Folkdance Festival will be held on the first day and Tamil Language Festival on the second day, provincial ministry of education officials said.


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ISGA must form basis for talks- UNP

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 September 2004, 14:44 GMT]
Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) Thursday reiterated its stand that the future talks between the United People Freedom Alliance (UPFA) the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) should commence on the basis of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA), said UNP's media spokesman and former minister Professor G.L.Peiris addressing a press briefing in Colombo.
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LTTE says ISGA proposals not final, open to discussion

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 September 2004, 00:28 GMT]
The LTTE said its interim administration proposals were not rigid or final and it was ready to negotiate the issue but it saw the lack of clarity on the part of the government as the main stumbling block, for the resumption of peace talks, the Daily Mirror reported Wednesday, quoting LTTE political wing leader, Mr S. P. Thamilchelvan.
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Solheim to meet Thamilchelvan Thursday

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 September 2004, 17:52 GMT]
Norwegian special peace envoy Mr. Erik Solheim is scheduled to meet Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, Political Head of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Thursday morning at 10 a.m. in the Killinochchi Peace Secretariat, sources said
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Pre-school opened in Nedunkerni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 September 2004, 16:08 GMT]
A pre-school constructed by the Nedunkerny Development Rehabilitation Organization (NDRO) with the financial assistance provided by the Siththi Vinayagar Kovil Society in Kerning, Denmark and sponsored by the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization and Pre-school Development Organization was declared open Wednesday morning.
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Thileepan death anniversary observance begins in NE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 September 2004, 10:34 GMT]
The Tamil people in the North-East Wednesday began observing the seventeenth death anniversary of Lt. Col. Thileepan, a senior leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam who died after twelve days' fasting unto death due to the failure of the Indian government in fulfilling five demands put forward by him to meet the aspirations of the Tamil people soon after the signing of the Indo-Sri Lankan agreement.
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Jaffna civil groups brief Norwegian peace envoy

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 September 2004, 10:21 GMT]
Jaffna civil groups and non-governmental organizations Wednesday handed over memoranda to the Norwegian special peace envoy Mr. Eric Solheim detailing the sufferings of Tamil people, especially hundreds of thousands of internally displaced families now staying in welfare centres unable to return to their houses and agricultural lands which are currently occupied by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in the SLA demarked high security zones, sources said.
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Solheim arrives in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 September 2004, 06:50 GMT]
Norwegian special peace envoy Mr. Erik Solheim Wednesday morning arrived in Palaly by a special aircraft. Mr. Solheim met with the Jaffna area commander of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Major General Sunil Tennekon who briefed him of the ground situation prevailing in the peninsula. Talks between LTTE district political head Mr.C.Ilamparithi, deputy head Mr.Semmanan and district women political head Ms Kalaivilzi and the Norwegian team led by Mr.Solheim began around noon, sources said.
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Buddhist monks meet Jaffna LTTE political leaders

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 September 2004, 01:28 GMT]
A group of forty six Buddhist monks from the South of Sri Lanka Tuesday told the Jaffna political leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that not all Buddhist priests are against the peace process and only a few leading prelates in the south are espousing racism.
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