Maheswaran nominated UNP candidate in Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 February 2004, 14:06 GMT]
Mr. Thiyagarajah Maheswaran, former minister for Hindu Affairs and ex MP for Jaffna, will contest in Colombo as a candidate of the United National Party, sources said. UNP officials said that the ex minister was expected to sign nomination papers for the electoral district of Colombo Saturday evening. Mr. Maheswaran announced last week that he was not contesting the April elections to Sri Lanka’s Parliament in Jaffna and was retiring from politics.
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Sangaree readies to contest in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 February 2004, 06:06 GMT]
Tamil United Liberation Front President Mr. Veerasingham Anandasangaree said Saturday he will contest the April elections to Sri Lanka's Parliament in Jaffna. Sources close to him confirmed that he would contest as an independent only in the electoral district of Jaffna. Mr. Anandasangaree cannot contest under the TULF banner as he is involved in a bitter legal wrangle with the party hierarchy. He cannot file nominations on behalf of his party without the approval of secretary general Mr. R. Sampanthan.
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"Sinhala Only" election materials irk NorthEast officials

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 February 2004, 17:54 GMT]
NorthEast officials responsible for conducting the forthcoming elections are irked at their Colombo counterparts for sending instructions and other election materials in "Sinhala only," thereby causing procedural snarl at the NorthEast election offices, officials in Jaffna said. Neither English copies nor Tamil translations accompany the received election material, according the same sources.
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LTTE's Special Motorbike Brigade completes training

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 February 2004, 16:39 GMT]
In an undisclosed location in Vanni, Pirapaharan, leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, participated in the passing out ceremony of a crack Motorbike brigade which completed its special training today, sources in Vanni said.
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Thousands of Killinochchi IDPs not paid resettlement assistance

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 February 2004, 15:44 GMT]
About 6,596 resettled families in the Killinochchi district have not been paid any resettlement allowances since the signing of the ceasefire agreement by the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Killinochchi district secretariat sources said.


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Mullaitivu fisheries sector struggles for survival

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 February 2004, 15:39 GMT]
Since the signing of ceasefire agreement by the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam fisheries sector in the Mullaitivu district has received no financial or any other assistance to restore the fisheries industry or to improve the living conditions of the fisher families, Mullaitivu fisheries sources said.


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Sampanthan warns of forces against TNA

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 February 2004, 14:01 GMT]
"Some powerful political forces are working hard to sabotage the attempt of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to win more parliamentary seats in the northeast province. Tamils should be vigilant, identify these elements and foil their actions," said TNA ex-parliamentary group leader Mr.R.Sampanthan speaking at a meeting held Thursday night in Trincomalee, which was attended by Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers Mr.S.Thilak.


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Ultra nationalist Sinhala buddhist monks to contest in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 February 2004, 11:07 GMT]
Jathika Hela Urumaya(JHU), an ultra Sinhala nationalist party of Buddhist monks, Friday filed nominations in Jaffna to contest elections to Sri Lanka's Parliament in the northern peninsula. "We will talk to the Tigers only if they accept Sri Lanka as a unitary state and give up their arms", said Ven. Vitharandhenige Methananda, the chief candidate of the JHU for Jaffna, responding to question about the peace process after he had handed in his party's nominations.
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Thamil Eelam sports festival begins in Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 February 2004, 09:19 GMT]
The third annual Thamil Eelam national sports festival commenced in Kilinochchi Friday, organizers said. Commander of the Eastern Front Forces of the Liberation Tigers, Col. Soosai, was the chief guest at the inauguration of the festival on the Kilinochchi playground Friday morning. Several senior officials of the LTTE, including the head of the Sports Division, Mr. S. Paappa were present at the inauguration, sources said.


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Tribalist irrationality permeates Sinhala political rhetoric - Uyangoda

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 February 2004, 03:31 GMT]
Unless extremely prudently handled, developments surrounding the forthcoming election may set in a new political process in which "Sri Lanka's future as a nation-state unit might be at a great risk" warns Professor Uyangoda, in a sobering analysis of the political campaign which he says is "likely to be full of rhetoric of the retrograde kind," in an opinion column that appears in the Friday edition of the Daily Mirror.


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TNA candidates for Trincomalee district announced

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 February 2004, 18:32 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance ex-parliamentary group leader Mr.R.Sampanthan is to lead the TNA list of candidates in the Trincomalee district at the forthcoming general election. This was announced at a meeting of local leaders of four Tamil political parties, constituents of the TNA held Thursday night in Trincomalee town with the participation of the Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Mr.S.Thilak.


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Ruhunu Janatha Party submits nominations in Trinco

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 February 2004, 16:16 GMT]
The Ruhunu Janatha Party (RJP) was the first political party to submit its nomination papers to contest in the Trincomalee electoral district in the forthcoming parliamentary election, which has been fixed for April 2, election department sources said.
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Elections commissioner says no to polling stations in LTTE areas

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 February 2004, 15:34 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Commissioner of Elections said Thursday he won’t allow polling booths in areas held by the Liberation Tigers where more than two hundred thousand Tamil voters live. The polling stations would instead be clustered in places controlled by the Sri Lankan armed forces he said. Addressing a press conference at his office in Colombo Thursday at his office he said that he decided to do so for reasons of security, transport problems and land mines.
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Protest's against Indian govt. say fasting fishermen

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 February 2004, 12:30 GMT]
"Our protest is against the Government of India because it is not doing anything about our plight. The chief minister of Tamil Nadu Ms. Jeyalalitha should pay attention to our problem. We will not return to India without our boats", said an Indian fisherman who was admitted to the Jaffna teaching Hospital after he fainted while fasting to death in the Sri Lankan government prison in the northern town Thursday.
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Sinhala groups first to file nominations in Jaffna, Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 February 2004, 10:22 GMT]
Ruhunu Janatha Party, a little known party from Sri Lanka's southern province, was the first on Thursday to file nominations to contest elections in Jaffna in April. All candidates of the party on its Jaffna nomination list, including three women are Sinhalese. Meanwhile in Vavuniya, the Ultra nationalist Sinhala Maha Sammatta Bhoomi Putra Part was the first to file nominations at 2.30 p.m. Thursday.
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Last ditch attempt to get 'rising sun' for TNA fails

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 February 2004, 08:18 GMT]
A last ditch attempt by the Tamil United Liberation Front to secure the rising sun symbol for the Tamil National Alliance failed when the Court of Appeal Thursday directed the party's secretary general and senior vice president to make written submissions regarding their appeal to set aside the interim injunction of the Colombo district court preventing them from convening party meetings without the written permission of Mr. V. Ananandasangaree, president of the TULF on 24 February, the last day of nominations for Sri Lanka's general elections in April.
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Legal wrangle forces TNA to choose "HOUSE" as election symbol

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 February 2004, 15:30 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has made alternate arrangements to hand over nomination papers on the Federal Party ticket with election symbol "HOUSE" if the court order against the Secretary General and Senior Vice President of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) in a law suit filed by the party president Mr.V. Anandasangaree continued beyond Thursday, TNA sources said.


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Mano Ganeshan meets with Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 February 2004, 14:18 GMT]
Western Province People's Front (WPPF) leader, Mano Ganeshan, met with Head of LTTE's Political Wing, S.P.Thamilchelvan, in Kilinochchi Wednesday morning sources in Kilinochchi said. "The critical importance of the forthcoming elections lies in the fact the Tamil Nation will use this democratic medium to unequivocally express its aspirations," Mr.Ganeshan told the reporters after his meeting.
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Chandrasekaran meets Thamilchelvan in Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 February 2004, 12:53 GMT]
Upcountry People's Front (UPF) leader and Minister in the United National Front (UNF) government, Mr.P.Chandrasekaran, met with Head of LTTE's Political Wing, S.P.Thamilchelvan, in Kilinochchi Wednesday morning and had discussions on ways UPF can forge a common agenda with the NorthEast Tamil parties at the forthcoming elections, sources in Kilinochchi said.


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Sangaree walks out of crucial TULF meet

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 February 2004, 10:25 GMT]
The crucial meeting of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) Wednesday to decide the party's stand on the April elections to the Sri Lankan Parliament ended inconclusively after party president Mr. V Anandasangaree walked out over strong disagreements with his colleagues on the question of nominating candidates. Mr. Anandasangaree refused to accept a common nomination list candidates from the other constituent parties Tamil National Alliance, TULF sources said.
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