TULF commends Norway, International Community

[TamilNet, Sunday, 17 November 2002, 19:21 GMT]
The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), main constituent of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), while commending Norway and International Community for their support to the peace process, made an appeal to Tamils from making statements that will have adverse impact on the peace process. People who have rarely stood up for the human rights or democratic rights of the Tamil people cannot make any honest contribution to the Tamil question, said the Secretary General of the TULF Mr.R.Sampanthan in a press release at the conclusion of the central committee meeting held Sunday in Colombo.
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RSF plans Nimalarajan memorial discussion

[TamilNet, Sunday, 17 November 2002, 17:51 GMT]
Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF, Reporters Without Borders) in association with The Nimalarajan Foundation is organizing a discussion in honour of Mylvaganam Nimalarajan, a BBC reporter in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, who was gunned down on 19 October 2000 at his home in Chunukili allegedly by Eelam People Democratic Party(EPDP) cadres, sources from UK said. The discussions will be held in the National Union of Journalists, London on 25 November.
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Military-LTTE commanders meet at Muhamalai second time

[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 November 2002, 18:40 GMT]
The delegations of the Sri Lanka armed forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam met Saturday at Muhamalai and discussed several issues regarding the question of resettling displaced families in high security zones and removal of fishing restriction in the Jaffna peninsula. The discussion, the second of its kind, commenced around ten in the morning, continued till six in the evening, sources said.
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Trinco journalists briefed on torture victim rehabilitation

[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 November 2002, 18:33 GMT]
The Family Rehabilitation Center (FRC) in Trincomalee Saturday held a one-day seminar for local journalists on rehabilitating torture victims. "The main objective of the FRC is to rehabilitate the victims of torture physically and psychologically and make them to lead normal lives in the society," said Dr.Gnanagunalan, medical officer of the FRC when addressing the seminar held at Trincomalee Town Hall Saturday morning.
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NorthEast prepares to celebrate Heroes Week

[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 November 2002, 13:43 GMT]
Preparations are underway throughout Northeast to mark Heroes week celebrations between 25th and 27th November during which Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) venerates its fighters who sacrificed their lives for the liberation of Tamil people.
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Kumburupiddy displaced struggle for survival

[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 November 2002, 00:54 GMT]
Hundreds of displaced Tamil families returned from Vanni to resettle, live in temporary sheds put up with cadjan dried leaves in Kumburupiddy, a traditional Tamil village twenty two km north of Trincomalee district, waiting assistance to reconstruct their destroyed houses and to rehabilitate their lives. They were driven out of Kumburupiddy when SLA soldiers moved into the village in 1990, returnees said.
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East development review before Sub-Committee meet

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 November 2002, 22:37 GMT]
Three Tamil Parliamentarians and political officials of the Liberation Tigers Of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) from the eastern province are meeting in Kilinochchi Saturday to review development needs of the eastern districts in preparation for the forthcoming meeting of the Sub-Committee for Rehabilitation and Resettlement scheduled for Monday, 18 November, sources said.
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LTTE opens political office at Kumburupiddy

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 November 2002, 21:38 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Friday opened a political office at Kumburupiddy, a traditional Tamil village, twenty-two km north of Trincomalee town. "We should work hard to resettle the displaced and rehabilitate their lives," said Mr. Sivakumar, Kumburupiddy LTTE political head addressing a gathering, which followed the ceremonial opening.
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LTTE seeks applicants to join Police Force

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 November 2002, 18:25 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has requested men and women who satisfy requirements published by the LTTE Police Personnel department to apply to fill vacant positions in its Police Force, sources said. This request follows the opening of a Police station at Palugamam in Batticaloa district last month.
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Parliament adopts UNF second budget

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 November 2002, 07:49 GMT]
The second budget of the United National Front government was passed Thursday in parliament by a majority of thirty-six votes. One hundred twenty nine parliamentarians voted for the budget and ninety three voted against. Parliamentarians of the main opposition People's Alliance (PA), Sinhala hardliner party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the National Unity Alliance (NUA), the breakaway group of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress voted against the budget.
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Budget fails to recognize needs of NorthEast -Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 November 2002, 21:15 GMT]
"The budget does not provide any relief to the devastated northeast. To treat the northeast in the same way as the rest of the country would tantamount to a refusal to acknowledge the devastation and deprivation suffered by the people of northeast," said Mr.R.Sampanthan, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) group leader participating in the budget debate Thursday.
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Exhibition highlights Children's Rights

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 November 2002, 21:45 GMT]
A two-day education exhibition named "Towards a new Era" organized by the North East Provincial Ministry of Education and sponsored by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) was inaugurated Wednesday morning in Trincomalee. The main objective of the exhibition is to raise social awareness on the rights of children, said Mr.S. Subramaniam, Additional Provincial Director of Education in charge of the project.
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Writers felicitated at Trinco literary celebrations

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 November 2002, 21:18 GMT]
Three leading writers, Pundit R.Vadivelu, Ms N.Baleswary, Mr.S.Mohamed Anas and a leading local physician Mr.Somapala Ranasinghe were honoured at the Divisional Literary Day celebrations held Tuesday at Trincomalee Town Hall organized by the Trincomalee Divisional Secretariat. Presiding over the celebration, Trincomalee Divisional Secretary Mr. Sundaram Arumainayagam said, "we should preserve our arts and culture from being destroyed. We should not forget that the glory of a race is preserved by its literature and culture."
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Muslim fishermen complain of attack

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 November 2002, 16:36 GMT]
About seventy five Muslim fishermen entered the conference hall of the Trincomalee district secretariat Monday evening, interrupting the meeting of the District Co-ordinating Committee (DCC) which was in progress, and lodged complaint to the parliamentarians and security officials that they had been assaulted by a group of persons backed by members State armed forces and police personnel in civil uniform, sources said.
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Resettlement should focus on most deserving –Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 November 2002, 19:45 GMT]
Tamil national alliance MP, Mr. R. Sampanthan, Monday strongly objected to moves by Sri Lankan government officials to ignore the most deserving and the most numerous Internally Displaced Persons in Trincomalee and instead to give priority to demographic balance in selecting families for resettlement projects in the district.
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Rebel Muslim MPs cut committee deal

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 November 2002, 15:08 GMT]
The Government of Sri Lanka Monday appointed a committee headed by its Interior secretary to look after the interests and concerns of Muslims in the island’s northeast in a bid to retain the crucial support of eight MPs of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, the main partner of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s ruling coalition, who have been boycotting Parliament amid allegations that the opposition was manipulating them to instigate communal tensions in the east to scuttle the peace talks for ending the island’s conflict and to topple the United National Front government.
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Kuchchaveli IDPs urge speedy resettlement

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 November 2002, 17:34 GMT]
Hundreds of displaced Tamil families from villages in Kuchchaveli division, 34 km north of the Trincomalee district and now residing in refugee camps elsewhere Sunday said that they should be resettled in their areas without delay and should be provided with necessary facilities. They attended a meeting held Sunday at Kuchchaveli Vivekanandan Maha Vidiyalayam where the resettlement of the displaced and their rehabilitation were discussed.
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TEEDOR appeals IDPs to Resettle

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 November 2002, 14:59 GMT]
Tamil Eelam Economic Development Organization (TEEDOR), a development agency working in the NorthEast, has requested displaced residents from villages of Maiyilavettuvan, Eeeralakulam and Veerakkattaru in Eravur regional boundary, 30 km Northwest of Batticaloa, to consider moving back to their villages, source in the east said.
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Tigers, GOSL optimistic after first defence meet

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 November 2002, 13:39 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers and the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) said they were confident of making further progress in stabilising the island’s peace process on the ground as their high-level defence teams wound up four hours of talks in Omanthai, 18 kilometres north of Vavuniya, on the line of control, Sunday.
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JVP lambasts peace talks

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 November 2002, 20:07 GMT]
“It is very foolish to believe that Norway, which is America’s quisling, would bring peace to our country. America is trying to oppress and rule over the people of the world. It is America that has unleashed terror on Iraq, Cuba, Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Eritrea,” said the Janata Vimukthi Permamuna (JVP), currently a powerful third force in Sinhala politics, in a pamphlet issued Saturday at the conclusion of a house-to-house campaign against the peace process.
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