'Peace process has not helped the war-affected' - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 April 2004, 19:10 GMT]
Despite the two and a half years of ceasefire, the people affected by the war in the Tamil homeland have not been able to return to their normal lives, and the Liberation Tigers consider this a setback in the peace process, said Mr. S.P. Thamilchelvan, the political head of the LTTE, speaking as a special guest at the North-East Economic Advisory Council’s conference in the Vanni Monday, sources said.
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Media bias: dangerous fruits, flowers and foliage

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 April 2004, 14:07 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers’ adoption in November 2003 of the Gloriosa Lily as the national flower of Tamil Eelam, featured on TamilNet last week, prompted a spate of sensational news reports linking the flower with death and suicide. But, while the ‘Karthigaipoo’ joins a small group of poisonous flowers that have been adopted as national flowers, like France’s Fleur-de-Lis, some more innocuous flowers and plants have proven deadlier.
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Batticaloa-Amparai TNA MPs to meet Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 April 2004, 10:36 GMT]
Batticaloa-Amparai Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Members of Parliament (MPs) are travelling to Vanni today to meet with LTTE Head of the Political Section, S.P.Thamilchelvan, Tuesday, sources in Batticaloa said.
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SLMM head meets Trinco SLN, SLA Commanders

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 April 2004, 13:01 GMT]
Major General (retd) Trond Furuhovde Saturday paid a visit to Trincomalee to assess the ground situation in the east port district following recent military operation by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ousting its renegade commander from the eastern region, sources said. He met with Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) commanders during his visit, according to security sources.


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NorthEast to observe Annai Poopathi anniversary

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 April 2004, 11:01 GMT]
Arrangements have been made in several parts of NorthEast to celebrate the 16th death anniversary of Annai Poopathi on Monday (April 19). She died after fasting for 31 days from 19 March 1988 demanding that the Indian government should stop the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and initiate talks with the LTTE.
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40 underaged Trinco LTTE cadres released to UNICEF

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 April 2004, 14:17 GMT]
40 under-aged cadres of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were released to UNICEF at the LTTE political office in Sampoor, Trincomalee today, UNICEF officials said. Special committee appointed by the LTTE to review an under-age list submitted to them by the UNICEF made the determination that the released 31 girls and 9 boys joined the LTTE using false documentation saying that they were 18 or older.
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Col.Bhanu, Col.Sornam meet with Batticaloa residents

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 April 2004, 12:24 GMT]
Senior military Commanders of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Col.Bhanu and Col.Sornam, who played leading roles in the ouster of renegade commander Karuna from Batticaloa, visited several areas in Batticaloa and met with local residents Friday, reports from Batticaloa said.
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‘Karuna’s colleagues are returning’- Col. Ramesh

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 April 2004, 16:15 GMT]
“We will not punish or victimise or persecute anyone who has been associated with Karuna in his traitorous activities. Our leader has instructed us to take a strictly humanitarian approach in dealing with this issue. Karuna’s colleagues who fled the district four days ago are contacting us now. They are all coming back. We would soon restore the law and order system and the judiciary”, said Col. Thambirajah Ramesh, LTTE’s special commander for the Batticaloa-Amparai district speaking to TamilNet at the ‘Meenaham’ military base Friday.
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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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'Don't re-recruit released underage LTTE cadres' -UNICEF

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 April 2004, 13:19 GMT]
UNICEF Friday called on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to ensure that released underage cadres are not re-recruited. “The LTTE must commit itself to not re-recruiting any of the children that have left the organization in the wake of last week’s fighting,” the UNICEF said in a press release.
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TNA MPs to meet Thamilchelvan Tuesday

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 April 2004, 12:58 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians will meet Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, in Kilinochchi on Tuesday, April 20th, at 10 a.m., TNA sources said. A decision to this effect was taken at the TNA parliamentary group meeting held Friday at the parliamentary complex.
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Amparai Tamils praised for rejecting regionalism

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 April 2004, 09:30 GMT]
Kanagasabai Pathmanathan, the Tamil National Alliance MP for Digamadulla (Amparai) district, in a memorandum released to the Tamil people of his district, praised the Amparai Tamil people for rejecting regionalism and showing the international community that Liberation Tigers are the undisputed leaders of the Tamil people, local daily Thamil Alai reported.
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SL Police attack IDPs at Vavuniya Welfare Center

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 April 2004, 16:06 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s police and home guards on Tuesday intervened in a private family quarrel and attacked a father and son with knives and an axe at the Sithamaparapuram Welfare center for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Vavuniya, and the victims were admitted at the Vavuniya hospital, sources in Vavuniya said.
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"International community accepts LTTE as Tamils’ saviour”-Gajendran

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 April 2004, 15:24 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian from the Jaffna district, Mr.S.Gajendran, said Thursday that the international community has accepted that the Liberation Tigers’ military wing safeguards and protects the Tamil people. "Because of this," said the TNA MP, "the international community remained silent, watching the events that took place when the LTTE launched its military operation to retrieve the areas from its renegade commander ('Karuna')."
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LTTE, SLA agree to restore relations in Batticaloa-Amparai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 April 2004, 12:24 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lanka army held discussions Wednesday afternoon on restoring relations in the Batticaloa and Amparai districts in Vavunathivu, 5 kilometres northwest of the Batticaloa town. Col. Thambirajah Ramesh, the Special Commander for the Batticaloa-Amparai District, led the LTTE delegation. Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, Maj. Gen. (ret) Tronde Furuhovde chaired the meeting. Asked whether the issue of renegade LTTE commander Karuna’s whereabouts was raised at the meeting, Col. Ramesh and Maj. Gen. (ret) Furuhovde replied in the negative.
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LTTE says no more underage cadres in Batti-Amparai

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 April 2004, 16:46 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers said Wednesday that they have released all underage (under 18) cadres in the Batticaloa-Amparai districts to their parents, including all those the UNICEF had reported in its list as under-aged recruits.
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Post election violence continues in Jaffna islets

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 April 2004, 16:15 GMT]
Violence is on the increase in the islets of Jaffna district after the general election held on April 2. Several people were injured in clashes that took place on the Tamil-Sinhala New Year Day (April 13) at Thambatti area in Kayts between members of public and the paramilitary Eelam People's Democratic party (EPDP), police said
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All TNA parliamentarians to visit Kilinochchi Friday

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 April 2004, 15:01 GMT]
All the twenty-two Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians are expected to meet the political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, Friday in Kilinochchi, sources in the Vanni said Wednesday.
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LTTE mourns cadres killed by fleeing renegade

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 April 2004, 13:59 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Wednesday officially announced that their deputy head of the Batticaloa intelligence unit, Lt.Colonel Neelan (Sinnathamby), was shot dead by the "traitorous" Vinayagamoorthy Muraleetharan alias Karuna on April 12 before he fled his jungle hideouts in the Batticaloa district, sources said.


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Four Karuna group cadres further remanded

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 April 2004, 13:23 GMT]
The Batticalo Magistrate, Mr. H.H.M. Ajmeer, on Wednesday ordered further remand until April 27 to the four cadres of the renegade Karuna group who were arrested by Sri Lanka police on March 31 with weapons on the Kalmunai-Batticaloa road, sources in Batticaloa said.
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