Pt.Pedro fisherman attacked by Indian poachers, missing

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 February 2004, 18:32 GMT]
Kanagaretnam Ratnam Sivanandam (31), one of the three Jaffna fishermen who were alleged to have been attacked by a group of Indian poachers with swords in the northern sea Monday morning is reported to be missing. Two other fishermen, Sellathurai Selvarajah (41) and his son Selvarasa Selvamohan (17), have been admitted to the Point Pedro base hospital, fisheries sources said.


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Ten groups compete in elections for Vanni district

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 February 2004, 10:26 GMT]
Vavuniya Government Agent (GA) and Vavuniya election officer, K.Ganesh, accepted nominations papers from three independent groups and seven different political parties for the Vanni electoral district comprising Vavuniya, Mannar and Mullaitivu districts, sources in Vavuniya said.
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TNA submits nomination lists for NE electoral districts

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 February 2004, 08:42 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Monday noon submitted its nominations for the five electoral districts, Jaffna, Vanni, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Amparai, in the Tamil dominated northeast province. TNA fielded its candidates in the name of the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK) and its election symbol "HOUSE". The ITAK last contested in the 1970 elections under the leadership of late Tamil leader Mr.S.J.V.Chelvanayakam ("Thanthai Chelva"), political sources said.
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TNA to meet again to decide on election symbol

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 February 2004, 15:36 GMT]
The leaders of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) will meet again on February 18th to take a final decision regarding the election symbol to contest the forthcoming parliamentary general election, which is to be held on April 2, party sources said. TNA leaders took the decision to this effect at a discussion held Sunday evening at the headquarters of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), main constituent of the TNA.


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Polling in LTTE areas to be discussed with truce monitors

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 February 2004, 15:42 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Commissioner of Elections Saturday told Government Agents and Assistant Elections Commissioners from the Northeast that he would discuss with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and the Sri Lankan Government’s Peace Secretariat about arrangements to enable more than two hundred thousand Tamils in regions that are not under Colombo’s control to vote in the general elections on 2 April. Sri Lankan armed forces prevented Tamils in these areas from voting in the Parliamentary elections of December 2001.
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TNA discussions on election strategy to continue

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 February 2004, 00:02 GMT]
The second round of discussions among the leaders of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to map out their election strategy concluded Wednesday night with a decision to meet again for the third round of talks on Sunday evening in Colombo. TNA parliamentary group leader Mr.R.Sampanthan presided. The first round of talks was held Tuesday evening, TNA sources said.
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Chandrasekaran briefs TNA leaders on alliance

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 February 2004, 18:24 GMT]
Leaders of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) held extensive discussion Tuesday to map out their election strategy to contest the forthcoming general election. The discussion commenced at about 5 p.m. at the Colombo headquarters of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), and was concluded at 10 p.m with a decision to meet again on Wednesday evening to finalize electoral arrangements, TNA sources said.
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Tamil national unity forum launched in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 February 2004, 17:46 GMT]
“The greatest challenge before the Tamil people today is the coming together of Sinhala chauvinist forces bent on denying our rights. The alliance between JVP and President Kumaratunga’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party has gathered all the Sinhala chauvinist forces in strength under one umbrella. There is only one way for the Tamils to face this challenge – we should unite now regardless of our regional differences”, said Mr. Selvam Adaikalanthan, Tamil National Alliance for the Vanni, addressing the first forum to unite all Tamil political parties and groups in Sri Lanka Thursday.
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Talks with a govt. sans defence impractical - Balasingham

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 January 2004, 04:45 GMT]
“It is impractical to hold peace negotiations when one party talks to the Tigers while another keeps the defence ministry in Sri Lanka. The international community, including Norway, has accepted this," Mr. Anton Balasingham, the political advisor of the Liberation Tigers told a Sri Lankan Minister and an MP who met him in London this week, according to the Thursday edition of Eelanaatham, a Tamil daily published from Kilinochchi, the main town in the LTTE controlled Vanni region.
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TNA votes against Sri Lanka's defense budget

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 December 2003, 09:20 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance voted against the Sri Lankan government’s 2004 budget allocation for defense and interior when it came up for voting at the committee stage in Parliament Wednesday afternoon. Mr. Selvam Adaikalanathan, TNA MP for the Vanni, told TamilNet the alliance opposed the 80 billion-rupee allocation “to register a strong protest against the increase in defense spending in peace time and against President Kumaratunga for jeopardizing the peace process by her precipitate actions”.
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NorthEast farmers face dire economic future - Adaikalanathan

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 December 2003, 12:13 GMT]
"Farmers in NorthEast have been facing severe hardship for the past several years. Many have to pawn their belongings now to continue to be able to cultivate their lands and earn a living," said Leader of Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) and MP Selvam Adaikalanathan during a parliamentary debate on allocation of funds for the Ministry of Agriculture and livestock, sources in Colombo said.


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TNA urges SL President to restore status quo ante

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 November 2003, 20:27 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance in a statement Friday urged Sri Lanka’s President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, to take appropriate steps to ensure that the situation of a lack of clarity and uncertainty now prevailing in the country following the take over of three ministries is ended by restoring the status quo ante.
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TNA urges UNF not to abdicate responsibility

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 November 2003, 17:18 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance Wednesday told Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister, Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, that its support to the United National Front government was totally related to the peace process and assured him its continued support to further the peace process. The TNA urged the Prime Minister that the United National Front government should not abdicate its responsibility to meaningfully continue with the peace process.
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"SL President's lack of sincerity will hamper peace efforts" -TNA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 November 2003, 12:34 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Tuesday told the Norwegian peace envoys that defense arrangements of the country should be left in the hands of one party that is dedicated to take forward the current peace process with sincerity. Sri Lanka's President's past actions of not responding to LTTE's unilateral ceasefire in December 2000 and her attempts to sideline Norway's peace envoy Eric Soleheim reflect her lack of sincerity and leaving the Peace Process in her command will damage peace efforts, TNA delegation added.
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TNA leaders meet to discuss Sri Lanka crisis

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 November 2003, 14:16 GMT]
The parliamentary group of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) held a meeting Saturday evening at the office of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) in Colombo and reviewed the President's address to the nation and the present political situation following the dismissal of three key ministers and the prorogation of the parliament for two weeks, TNA sources said.


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Struggle to take Sri Lanka Parliament gathers pace

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 November 2003, 06:02 GMT]
Tamil and Muslim MPs and the Sinhala nationalist Janata Vimukthi Peramuna are set to play a key role as frantic efforts by President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s People Alliance and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s United National Front to cobble together a majority in Parliament before 19 November gathered momentum in Colombo Wednesday. Mr. Selvam Adaikalanathan, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP for Vanni told TamilNet: “We won’t go for horse deals. The TNA will take a principled stand in the interests of peace”.
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Future of Sri Lanka’s peace hangs in balance

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 November 2003, 12:10 GMT]
Prospects for ending the island’s two-decade-old conflict dimmed fast Tuesday as the status of the cease-fire agreement (CFA), which was signed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in February 2002, became uncertain after President Kumaratunga snatched the ministry of defence from his government Tuesday. “We are carefully monitoring and studying the developments. Based on this, our leadership will decide what to do," Mr. Daya Master, the Media Co-ordinator of the LTTE told TamilNet.
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Thamilchelvan meets TNA over IA proposals

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 October 2003, 16:04 GMT]
Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, the political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, met with parliamentarians of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) on Wednesday at the Kilinochchi peace secretariat, LTTE peace secretariat sources said.
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Mannar villagers angered by rape want Police out

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 October 2003, 12:46 GMT]
Villagers of Uyilankulam, east of Mannar, angered by the rape of a retarded woman living with her parents on Saturday night demanded that Sri Lankan Police posts in the area should be removed forthwith. The 32-year-old woman was admitted to the Anuradhapura Hospital on Sunday after she was allegedly raped brutally by two Policemen who had come to buy cigarettes at her father's shop.
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Wickremesinghe said to agree in principle to IDPs' resettlement in HSZ

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 October 2003, 16:51 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, in a meeting with a delegation of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Thursday, accepted 'in principle' that all internally displaced families are entitled to resettlement in their own lands and houses in the northeast province, regardless of whether those lands or houses come under areas declared as high security zones (HSZ) by the Sri Lanka Army, TNA sources said.
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