Karthigaipoo declared as National flower of Eelam Tamils

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 April 2004, 01:10 GMT]
"Karthigaipoo" or Gloriosa Lily (Botanical name - Liliaceae Glory lily or Gloriosa superba), which has the spectrum of colors contained in the Tamil Eelam national flag and which in November, the month of Heroes day celebrations, ubiquitously spreads, sprouts new shoots and blooms throughout the NorthEast, has been proclaimed the official national flower of Eelam Tamils. Reliable sources from Vanni said that the Karthigaipoo was designated as Tamil Eelam National flower by the LTTE administration during the Great Heros rememberence week in November 2003.
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Trinco Lions Club donates mosquito nets to students

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 April 2004, 00:01 GMT]
The Thirukoneswaram (Trinco) Lions Club has donated a consignment of mosquito nets to Tamil students who come from poor families and are being assisted by the Trincomalee Students Welfare Fund to pursue their education from Grade one to university level. The distribution of mosquito nets took place at a function held in the Trincomalee Vigneswara Maha Vidiyalayam recently under the auspices of Trincomalee Students Welfare Fund, sources said.
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Kausalyan explains retrieval with minimal bloodshed

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 April 2004, 16:36 GMT]
The political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for the Batticaloa-Amparai region, Mr. Kausalyan, speaking to press persons in Vakarai Tuesday, said that the retrieval of the region from the renegade Karuna group was made according to the plans of the LTTE leader, Mr. V. Pirapaharan, and executed with care and humanitarian concern by commanders led by the Special Commander for the region, Mr. T. Ramesh.


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Batticaloa residents express happiness over end of tensions

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 April 2004, 15:58 GMT]
The residents of the Batticaloa-Amparai district have expressed happiness over the end of the tensions caused by the renegade Karuna group in the region. The people are celebrating the Tamil New Year with relief, sources in Batticaloa said.
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LTTE hands over 269 cadres to their parents in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 April 2004, 14:53 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said Tuesday that it has handed over 269 of its cadres, including 168 who are less than eighteen years old, to their parents when they rejoined the LTTE following the LTTE's recovery of the Batticaloa-Amparai areas from the breakaway faction led by Mr. Vinayagamoorthy Muraleetharan (Karuna), Vanni sources said.
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‘No trace of ‘Karuna’ in Batticaloa’s interior’ – LTTE commanders

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 April 2004, 14:23 GMT]
Special Forces commanders of the Liberation Tigers in Batticaloa told TamilNet Tuesday that all the LTTE military camps in the district’s interior have been completely checked and cleared. “We have recovered the Batticaloa-Amparai district armoury fully, except for a heavy mortar and some rifles. The ammunition stores are intact”, one of them said. He said that they found several vehicles set on fire in ‘Meenaham’, the LTTE’s largest military base in the east.
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Kathiraveli battle dead named

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 April 2004, 10:23 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam yesterday named its three fighters who were killed in the 9th April Kathiravelli battle against cadres loyal to Renegade LTTE commander ‘Karuna,' Mr. Vinayagamoorthy Muraleetharan, Jaffna daily Uthayan reported.
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Hindu Council appeals for Peace in New Year message

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 April 2004, 09:28 GMT]
The All Ceylon Hindu Congress (ACHC) Tuesday in its New Year Day message appealed to the Sri Lanka Government and the opposition to evolve a lasting political solution that would satisfy the aspirations of the Tamil-speaking people to work towards a ensuring permanent peace in Sri Lanka.


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Election to six provincial councils on one day

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 April 2004, 07:35 GMT]
Sri Lankaís President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge is seriously considering a proposal to hold elections to six provincial councils (excluding northwest) in the south of the country on one day. She is to begin talks next week with leaders and secretaries of various political parties in this regard. Already the election to northwestern provincial council has been fixed for April 24th, political sources said.
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Tamil New Year Day to be held in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 April 2004, 17:13 GMT]
A provincial level Tamil New Year Day celebration organized by the North East Provincial Education and Cultural Ministry in collaboration with the Vavuniya Suththananda Hindu Young Men Association, called in Tamil as " SITHIRAPAVAI," is to be held in Vavuniya on April 16th, sources said. The Tamil-Sinhala New Year Day dawns on Tuesday (April 13th).
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Renegade LTTE Commander flees jungle base

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 April 2004, 10:42 GMT]
Renegade LTTE commander ‘Karuna,' Mr. Vinayagamoorthy Muraleetharan, has fled his jungle base north west of Batticaloa accompanied by a small number of his closest supporters and bodyguards, Sivagnanam Karikalan, a senior leader of the Liberation Tigers from the east, who is currently visiting Switzerland, told TamilNet. According to unconfirmed reports, Mr. Muraleetharan has sought refuge in a Sri Lankan military camp in the adjacent district of Polonnaruwa. Military sources in Colombo declined to confirm the reports.
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LTTE forces move into Batticaloa's hinterland

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 April 2004, 06:37 GMT]
Liberation Tigers moved into the entire areas south west of Batticaloa town Monday. Several military units of the LTTE, which moved from different directions, took control of Kokkadichcholai around Monday noon. Karuna Group's propaganda organ, Tamil Alai office and the Press were taken over by members of the LTTE's political division who also moved into the area. Meanwhile hundreds of male and female cadres from Renegade LTTE Commander Karuna's main base, Meenakam, began arriving in their villages from Monday morning.
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SLN harasses civilians travelling to Jaffna islets

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 April 2004, 16:36 GMT]
Residents of islets in the Jaffna district Sunday made complaints to the authorities concerned that Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) personnel manning entry check points at Allaipitty and Kayts Kannagai Amman jetty have started harassing civilians following the general election held last week, sources said.


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Battle lines drawn for election of Sri Lanka's Speaker

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 April 2004, 15:10 GMT]
Battle lines are drawn by the two major political parties, the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and the United National Party (UNP), which have failed to obtain absolute majority in the general election on April 2, to show their strength when the thirteenth parliament is scheduled to meet on April 22 to elect the Speaker, political sources said.
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LTTE recovers arms, cadres from Karuna group

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 April 2004, 14:31 GMT]
In commando style attacks on the Karuna group in Vakarai, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have recovered large quantities of arms and a large number of cadres, the ThamilAlai.com website (a shadow edition from the East of the Karuna group's TamilAlai) said.
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JHU rejects Peace Process, Norway Facilitation

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 April 2004, 13:31 GMT]
"We totally reject the present peace process as we believe it will only lead to the division of this country. We also reject the facilitation of Norway because it is partial towards the LTTE," said Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) Propaganda Secretary Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera while outlining the basis of his party's position in backing the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, in an interview that appeared in today's weekly Sunday Times in Colombo.


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TRO, Red Cross care for displaced in East

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 April 2004, 18:00 GMT]
About two hundred families, who fled to Muttur to escape from the fighting between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and cadres loyal to renegade commander Karuna in Verugal and Kathiraveli villages, are given shelter and food in schools in Eachilampathu division in the Muttur south held by the LTTE, sources said.


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Operation to expel Karuna from Tamil homeland begun- LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 April 2004, 16:46 GMT]
The political section of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in a press release said that the LTTE has started co-ordinated operations to expel renegade LTTE commander ‘Karuna,' Mr. Vinayagamoorthy Muraleetharan, from the Tamil Homeland, Daya Master, media coordinator for LTTE, said from Vanni.
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JVP boycotts UPFA cabinet swearing in ceremony

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 April 2004, 13:41 GMT]
The first cabinet of the United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government was sworn in Saturday evening in the President’s House with no live coverage by the State electronic media. The leaders and ministers designate of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), major constituent of the UPFA, boycotted the event due to differences of opinion over the allocation of subjects to ministries designated for them, informed political sources in Colombo said.


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Jaffna posters urge boycott of SLA sponsored sports programs

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 April 2004, 11:43 GMT]
Posters appeared in public places in the Jaffna district Saturday appealing to members of the public not to participate in any sports festivals and programmes conducted by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to mark the Tamil Sinhala new year celebrations. These anonymous posters are seen pasted in public places in important junctions in the peninsula, residents said.


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