UNP protests, Tamil campaign begins in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 November 2001, 21:16 GMT]
United National Party candidates and supporters Sunday staged a protest against election violence in Vavuniya town while the Tamil National Alliance opened a campaign office on Vairavar Kovil Road in the town centre and held a joint propaganda meeting in Mudaliyakulam in the Cheddikulam division later in the day. The UNP demonstrated against the attack on the party's chief candidate for the district on Friday night in which gunmen suspected to be members of a Tamil Para-military group operating with the Sri Lanka army opened fire on the vehicle in which he was travelling.
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Embargo, war caused 13, 379 civilian deaths - report

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 November 2001, 03:05 GMT]
Thirteen thousand three hundred and seventy nine civilians died in the Kilinochchi and Mullaithivu districts due to the war and the economic embargo imposed by the Sri Lankan government from 1990 to 1999, according to a press report in the Vanni published this weekend. Most of the deaths, destruction of civilian property and mass displacement tool place after the People's Alliance came to power in 1994, the report said. Four thousand eight hundred and seventy nine civilians died in the Mullaithivu district between 1994 and 1999 due to the direct impact of the economic embargo on the Vanni, particularly due to the severe restrictions on medical supplies.
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Tamil alliance call for LTTE deproscription

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 November 2001, 01:06 GMT]
The leaders of the Tamil parties in the newly formed alliance said Saturday that they would strive, both nationally and internationally, to achieve the aims and objectives embodied in their memorandum of understanding to find a durable political solution to the Tamil national question through talks with the Liberation Tigers.
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Two PLOTE cadres killed

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 November 2001, 11:24 GMT]
Two armed cadres of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) were shot dead by unidentified gunmen at Poonthoddam in Vavuniya around 10.30 p.m. Friday, police sources said.
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'Our land's freedom is our birthright' - Selvam

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 November 2001, 18:48 GMT]
"The Tamils of Ampara have had to face the brunt of both Sinhala chauvinism and Muslim intimidation. But they have refused to submit or yield their national pride as Tamils. We have to show the world that we will never sell our dignity for a mess of pottage, that we will not be intimidated by the terror that the Sri Lankan state has unleashed on us.
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Lies, fronts and ruins

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 November 2001, 11:24 GMT]
((News Feature) Sri Lanka’s President Chandrika Kumaratunga Tuesday accused Human Rights Watch, which has criticised excesses by the Sri Lankan security forces, of “telling lies” and dismissed the largest human rights organization based in the United States as a front for the Liberation Tigers. President Kumaratunga however praised the University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) as “totally independent” and whom she said were “very appreciative” of her government. Kumaratunga’s comments were made in an interview to CNN conducted by Zain Verjee during which the President continued her bitter attack on her main opposition, denied she had conducted a ‘war for peace’ (“we called it a battle for peace. we wanted peace through peace”), and denied there was an economic embargo on Tamil areas – even though Verjee didn’t actually raise the matter.
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Tough time on Hard Talk

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 November 2001, 15:06 GMT]
(News Feature) Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga's public relations blitz in the Western media unexpectedly ran into difficulties Tuesday on the BBC's Hard Talk program hosted by Tim Sebastian. Faced with several embarrassing questions about the human rights situation in the island and the lack of progress in the peace process, President Kumaratunga, struggling to respond, became increasingly defensive and irritated. During the course of the half-hour interview, Kumaratunga said the US State Department's 2001 report on human rights contained "lies," claimed there had been "only one rape in Jaffna" since she came to power, flatly denied there was an economic embargo on Tamil areas ("that is nonsense!"), and blamed rights violations on "mad" policemen. Amid Sebastian's, trademark rapid-fire questions, some exchanges with the President bordered on the farcical.
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Clustered booths enable rigging -TULF

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 October 2001, 19:33 GMT]
The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) has complained to the Commissioner of Elections that adequate attention has not been paid to the difficulties of Tamil voters when deciding upon polling stations in the Trincomalee district. Several polling stations are to be clustered near Mahindapura Sri Lanka Army camp and at Muttur Al Hidaya Maha Vidyalayam (school) for about 14,000 Tamil voters, said Mr.R.Sampanthan, the party's Secretary General.
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"Tamil parties' alliance formed to support liberation struggle"-TULF

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 October 2001, 18:45 GMT]
The Tamil United Liberation Front said Sunday that the Tamil parties' alliance has been formed to muster support of the Tamil people and their political forces for the freedom-struggle of the Liberation Tigers in and out parliament and not aimed at elections."The time has now come for all the Tamil political forces in the northeast to unite under one banner to give full support for the militants who are involved in the freedom struggle," said Mr.R.Sampanthan, Secretary General of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) and the chief candidate of the Tamil parties' alliance for the Trincomalee district addressing alliance activists Sunday morning at his residence.
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Police enforce curfew in Mutur

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 October 2001, 13:54 GMT]
Sri Lankan security forces declared unofficial curfew in Mutur, south of Trincomalee from 5 p.m. Sunday evening following tension in the eastern town over the death of two Muslim youth in cross fire Friday during a clash between the Liberation Tigers and the army and Police. Tamils in Mutur have sought asylum in the town’s Methodist Church and St. Anthony’s church and a Tamil orphanage fearing reprisals by Muslims. Meanwhile, four Muslims, including a 2 year old, were found murdered near the Navaladi Sri Lanka army camp, 34 kilometres north of Batticaloa.
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Fifteen parties, 6 independent groups contest Trincomalee district

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 October 2001, 22:18 GMT]
Fifteen registered political parties including People's Alliance, United National Party, Tamil United Liberation Front, Janata Vimukthi Peramuna, Eelam Peoples Democratic Party, Sihala Urumaya, Sinhala Nationalist Party, Sri Lanka Muslim United Liberation Party, Sri Lanka Muslim 'Kadchchi' (party) and six independent groups Saturday submitted nominations at the Trincomalee district secretariat to contest the forthcoming general election in the Trincomalee district.
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Sihala Urumaya, JVP, UNP enter fray in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 October 2001, 07:50 GMT]
The Sinhala Nationalist party, Sihala Urumaya, and the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the People’s Liberation Front of Thamil Eelam (PLOTE) and the Tamil national alliance filed nominations for the general elections on 5 December at the Jaffna District Secretariat (Kachcheri) Saturday. The chief candidate for EPDP in the northern district is Mr. Nithiyanandan ‘Douglas’ Devananda and for the Tamil alliance, Mr. V. Anandasangaree. The EPRLF (Varathar faction), JVP, UNP and two minor left groups, the New Left Front and the Democratic Left Front, have also filed nominations to contest the general elections in Jaffna on 5 December.
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Tamil Alliance files nominations in East and Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 October 2001, 16:42 GMT]
The Tamil national alliance filed nominations for the electoral districts of Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Ampara and the Vanni Friday. The Alliance could not file nominations in Jaffna because its list of candidates for the northern electorate has not been finalised, Tamil party sources said.
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Major parties start submitting nomination lists

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 October 2001, 21:42 GMT]
Major political parties have started submitting their lists of candidates for the forthcoming parliamentary elections from Thursday. The ruling People's Alliance Thursday submitted its list of candidates contesting the Hambantota electoral district. The main opposition United National Party submitted its lists of candidates for the Gampaha and Moneragala electoral districts.
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Eastern PA strongman joins UNP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 October 2001, 18:45 GMT]
The People's Alliance strong man in the east, Mr.Somasundaram Ganeshamoorthy, joined the United National Party (UNP) Wednesday. He said that the PA had cheated the Tamil people by not doing anything to solve the Tamil problem. Earlier in the day the state run Tamil daily denied speculation that he was about to cross over.
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"First internal study of LTTE" published

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 October 2001, 11:00 GMT]
A new book, The Will to Freedom, released this week, provides the first internal study of two decades of the Liberation Tigers' campaign and its leadership, the publishers said in a statement this week. Written by Adele Balasingham, who has lived and worked in India and Sri Lanka for than twenty years with the LTTE, the 400-page book "will be of interest to all those who want to study the inside story of the Tamil resistance movement," Fairmax Publishing Ltd. said.
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'Lift ban or let us go to Vanni'- Jaffna fishermen

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 October 2001, 13:40 GMT]
More than three thousand fishermen and women demonstrated in Pt. Pedro town Tuesday against Sri Lanka Army restrictions on fishing in the seas off the Jaffna peninsula's Vadamaradchi coast. The fishermen demanded that the SLA should either lift the restrictions and ban or allow them to leave Jaffna and to settle in the LTTE controlled Vanni region.
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UNP to contest as UNF with elephant symbol

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 October 2001, 21:51 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) will contest the forthcoming general election scheduled to be held on 5 December under the name of the United National Front (UNF). However the election symbol will be 'elephant'. A motion to this effect was unanimously approved at the special convention of the UNP held Sunday at Colombo Town Hall.
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Self-determination is 'might is right'-Thamilmaran

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 October 2001, 14:20 GMT]
"A people's right of self determination is not always recognised by the international community because it is inherently just. It is more often the case that it is accepted only when a people succeed in their armed struggle to secede. When a people lose the war to gain independence the international community rejects their right of self-determination. This was the experience of Biafra. It lost the war for independence from Nigeria and its people's right of self determination was not recognised," said Mr. V.T Thamilmaran, senior lecturer in law in the University of Colombo delivering the Mylvaganam Nimalarajan commemoration lecture in Batticaloa Sunday. The lecture 'The challenges to the State in the 21st Century' was organised by the East Lanka Journalists' Association and the International Broadcasting Corporation (Tamil).
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Tamil parties sign MOU

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 October 2001, 17:42 GMT]
Leaders of the Tamil parties' alliance Saturday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to contest the forthcoming general election under one symbol. Mr.R.Sampanthan on behalf of Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), Mr.N.Kumarakuruparan on behalf of All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), Mr.N.Sri Kantha on behalf of Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) and Mr.Suresh Premachandran of behalf of Eelam Peoples' Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF-Suresh wing) have signed the MOU.
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