Rural Volunteers Brigade passing out parade held in Eachchilampathu

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 March 2006, 17:23 GMT]
"The Government of Sri Lanka led by President Mahinda Rajapakse is pushing us to the war front to win our rights," said Colonel Sornam, Special Commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) participating as the chief guest after taking salute at the passing out parade of a class of rural volunteers brigade held Tuesday afternoon in the grounds of Eachchilampathu Sri Sembaga Maha Vidiyalayam. The volunteers underwent three months of rigorous military training including handling heavy weapons, LTTE sources said.
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ADB funded pre-school opens in Pooneryn

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 March 2006, 11:42 GMT]
A pre-school building, constructed by the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) with the financial assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded North East Community Restoration Development (NECORD) and CAARP, was declared open Monday at Netpulavu village in Pooneryn in the Killinochchi district. Mr.Ramanathan, President of the Socio-Economic Development Society (SEDS) presided the event, sources said.
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LTTE delegation returns from Geneva

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 March 2006, 10:55 GMT]
Members of the Liberation Tigers delegation which took part in the Geneva talks held on 22-23rd February returned to Kilinochchi at 3 p.pm. Tuesday on a Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) helicopter, media sources in Kilinochchi said. Head of LTTE Political Wing, S.P.Thamilchelvan, Head of Tamileelam Police P Nadesan, Col Jeyam and LTTE Peace Secretariat's Ilanthirayan were flown to Kilinochchi while the other members will be taking the land route accompanied by members of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) sources added.
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JVP demands expulsion of Norway from peace process

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 March 2006, 09:15 GMT]
Wimal Weerawanse, Propaganda Secretary and Parliamentary Group Leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Permuna (JVP), Sri Lanka's powerful Sinhala nationalist "marxist" party, demanded during Tuesday's parliamentary session that Norway be stripped of its facilitator role in Sri Lanka. Accusing Norway of attempting to hold on to its facilitator role for two more years to provide diplomatic status to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and assisting LTTE towards earning international recognition for its Declaration of Independence (UDI) for Tamil Eelam, the JVP's propaganda secretary demanded immediate expulsion of Norway from the peace process, parliamentary sources said.
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Italian NGO donates boatyard to Muttur east fisheries federation

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 March 2006, 08:27 GMT]
Inter SOS, an Italian non-governmental organization which has been engaged in rehabilitating the tsunami destroyed fishing industry in Muttur east, in the Trincomalee district handed over its Boatyard in Kadatkaraichchenai and its office building to the Muttur Fisheries Societies Federation (MFSF).
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Women's Day sports competition begins in Muttur east

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 March 2006, 05:33 GMT]
A week-long sports competition to mark the Tamileelam Women Reawakening Day, conducted by the Tamileelam Sports Department, began Friday morning in Ilankatihurai Muhathuwaram Maha Vidiyalayam grounds in the LTTE held Eachchilampattu division in the Trincomalee district. About five hundred women from about twenty-five sports clubs are participating in the competition., sources said.
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Colombo should demonstrate CFA obligations - Thamilchelvan in Oslo

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 March 2006, 18:48 GMT]
"It is time for Colombo to prove demonstrated commitment to February 2002 Ceasefire Agreement," said LTTE's Political Head S. P. Thamilchelvan, who met Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jonas Gahre in Oslo Friday. Speaking to TamilNet following his meeting with the Norwegian FM, Political Head of the LTTE expressed dismay over the controversial statements made by Sri Lanka peace delegation seeking to weaken the the Ceasefire Agreement, the sole foundation of continued peace- engagement.
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World Vision supported projects inaugurated in Muttur east

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 March 2006, 20:01 GMT]
World Vision, an international non-governmental organization inaugurated two projects Wednesday, one at Ganeshapuram and the other at Kadatkaraichchenai in the Liberation Tigers held Muttur east to provide learning facilities for students and psychosocial development for children children.
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ITAK appoints Chairman, deputy for Verugal PS

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 February 2006, 08:59 GMT]
The Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchchi (ITAK) has appointed Mr.Sabapathipillai Soundararajah as Chairman, and Mr.Vairan Nagendran as Vice Chairman of the Verugal Pradesiya Sabah in the Trincomalee district. ITAK was returned uncontested in the Verugal PS when the nomination closed on 16th February for the thirteen local authorities in the district. The ITAK is now contesting ten local councils excluding Padavi Siripura PS and Gomarankadawela PS, sources said.
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ZOA funded computer centre opens in Muttur east

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 February 2006, 18:14 GMT]
A Computer Training Centre built by the Thamileelam Students Organization with the funding of ZOA, an international non-governmental organization, was opened during the weekend in Sampoor, a village in the LTTE held Muttur east territory, sources said.
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Local elections in LTTE areas likely to be postponed

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 February 2006, 14:28 GMT]
Commissioner of Elections is to decide on whether to hold local council elections in areas controlled by the Liberation Tigers in the NorthEast on March 30th only after holding two conferences, one with all the District Returning Officers who are the Government Agents of the province, and the other with the general secretaries of the registered political parties contesting the poll, sources said.
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LTTE leaders meet Swiss officials, attend expat event

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 February 2006, 20:02 GMT]
Swiss foreign ministry officials met with the Liberation Tigers delegation led by Chief Negotiator and Political Strategist, Anton Balasingham on Friday at Chataeu De Bossey, Geneva where talks between the LTTE and the Government of Sri Lanka was held. On Saturday the delegation attended a large gathering of Tamil-Swiss expatriates in the Convention Hall in Frieberg, Switzerland, sources in Geneva said.
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Avoid politicizing child rights issues - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 February 2006, 12:38 GMT]
Speaking in the second session of the first day of the talks in Geneva between the Liberation Tigers and the Government of Sri Lanka on 22 February 2006, S P Thamilchelvan, the political head of the LTTE, said that the accusations directed at the Liberation Tigers on Under-age recruitment, although directly irrelevant to the Cease Fire Agreement, needs to be viewed in the context of two decades of war and the continued violation of the rights of children during this period.
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Auxilliary force training camp opening ceremony held in Thalaiyadi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 February 2006, 12:52 GMT]
Opening event of training camp for Sea Tigers' auxilliary force at the Lt.Col.Maravan camp in Thalaiyady, Vadamaradchy east was held at 8 a.m. Wednesday morning, sources from Vadamaradchy said. More than one hundred auxilliary forces cadres from Thalaiyadi area are enrolled in this phase of training, according to officials of the Sea Tigers.
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Balasingham arrives in Geneva

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 February 2006, 21:27 GMT]
Chief Negotiator and Political Strategist of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Mr. Anton Balasingham arrived in Geneva at 7:50 p.m. Monday from London. Mr. Balasingham who was accompanied by his wife Ms. Adele Balasingham, was received by Swiss officials at the airport. The LTTE delegation departed to talks venue in Bossey, 22 km northwest of Geneva from the Airport, sources in Geneva said.
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Swiss officials welcome LTTE delegation in Geneva

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 February 2006, 15:47 GMT]
The 12-member Liberation Tigers delegation arrived at the Geneva airport at 4.30 a.m. Saturday morning to attend the peace talks with the Government of Sri Lanka on 22-23rd February, and was met at the air port by the Swiss Foreign Ministry officials headed by Ms. Sidonia Gabriel (Programme officer, Peace Policy, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs), sources in Geneva said. Liberation Tigers Chief Negotiator and Political Strategist Mr. Anton Balasingham is expected to join the delegation on Monday afternoon, according to LTTE sources.
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UPFA to contest three Jaffna local councils

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 February 2006, 16:26 GMT]
Ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) is contesting three local councils in Jaffna district, Chavakachcheri, Point Pedro and Valvettithurai urban councils, and has submitted nomination papers for these councils, election officials in Jaffna said. For the Jaffna Municipal Council only three political parties Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK), Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) and PLOTE-EPRLF (Varathar wing) have submitted nominations.
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Verugal PS Chairman, Deputy to be appointed within 7 days

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 February 2006, 16:19 GMT]
Mr.M.M.S.K.Bandara Mapa, Trincomalee District Assistant Commissioner of Elections has written a letter to the General Secretary of the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchchi (ITAK) to nominate two candidates for the post of Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Verugal Pradesiya Sabah in the Trincomalee district within seven day's period, on or before February 23, sources said Friday. ITAK was elected unopposed to the Verugal PS when the final date of nomination closed on Thursday, election department sources said.
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LTTE delegation leaves Kilinochchi for Geneva

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 February 2006, 11:21 GMT]
Liberation Tigers delegation left Kilinochchi Friday morning to participate in negotiations with Government of Sri Lanka(GOSL) facilitated by the Norwegian Government in Geneva, Switzerland scheduled to be held February 22-23. Head of LTTE Political Wing, Mr Thamilchelvan, told the media before leaving Kilinochchi that the talks will discuss ways to implement February 2002 Truce agreement between the parties who are meeting for direct talk after more than three years. The delegation departed Kilinochchi grounds in a Sri Lanka Air Force( SLAF) helicopter around 9:00 am Friday.
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The Importance of ‘Rearbase’: Taraki, 1989

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 February 2006, 02:05 GMT]
In the 29 October 1989 issue of Sri Lanka's English daily, Island International, late Dharmeratnam Sivaram, popular journalist and Senior editor at TamilNet, writes on the waning importance of a rear base in Tamil Nadu after the end of Eelam war I in 1987. "That a multipurpose comfortable rearbase would in the long term erode the conviction to fight and play into the hands of India was an opinion expressed in 1983. Finally the rearbase started becoming a factor that threatened to undermine the control various leaders had over their fighting cadres," Sivaram wrote.
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