STF shoots dead two LTTE political cadres in Amparai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 October 2006, 16:39 GMT]
Special Task Force (STF) soldiers shot dead two from the political wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE)when the SLA cordoned off and searched Vinayagapuram in Thirukovil in Amparai Tuesday around 8:30 a.m, S. Jeya, Amparai District Political Head said. Area residents were led to a public place for intensive search and interrogation.
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SLA Mandur offensive repulsed, one STF trooper killed, two injured- LTTE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 October 2006, 16:17 GMT]
One trooper was killed and two others from the Mandur Kampikattu Bridge Special Task Force (STF) of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Batticaloa were seriously injured by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) counter attack Tuesday around 3:30 p.m, said S.Seeralan, Batticaloa District LTTE Deputy Political Head.
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Norwegian MP criticizes closure of A9

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 October 2006, 10:33 GMT]
Jan Bøhler, Labour Party parliamentarian and leader of the Oslo Labour Party, expressed concern about the failure of the week-end talks between the Sri Lanka Government (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and commended the efforts of the Norwegian Tamils supporting peace, Monday around 7:00 p.m in front of the Norway Parliament, source in Norway said. The GoSL blockade of the A9 landroute to Jaffna should be criticized by all who care about humanitarian issues, said Jan Bøhler in his address.
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Indian model ill-suited to address Tamil demands- Gajendrakumar

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 October 2006, 03:44 GMT]
While the Sri Lanka Government negotiators in Geneva II heralded the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) as key to formulating “a political and constitutional framework for the resolution of the national question,” an APRC delegation has been touring India to study India's “federal” setup. Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian and Member of the Parliamentary Consultative Committees for Constitutional affairs, said that the post-partition constitution of India was not required to address any sovereignty issues similar to those that lie at the core of Tamil struggle, and therefore, is ill-suited for Sri Lanka.


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Civilian shot injured at Kannankuda, Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 October 2006, 09:06 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen shot and seriously injured a civilian on his way to fish in a lake close to his house at Kannankuda in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held territory in Batticaloa district Sunday around 9:00 p.m, Batticaloa police said. The injured man was rushed to Batticaloa Teaching hospital.


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Statement by the Norwegian Facilitator

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 October 2006, 07:23 GMT]
At the conclusion of the 2-day meeting in Geneva between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers, the Norwegian Facilitator issued a statement urging “both parties to allow themselves some time to reflect on the situation and not to draw hasty conclusions or take actions that could increase the suffering of civilians in Sri Lanka.” “Norway will be in ongoing dialogue with the parties to discuss all possible ideas on how to move the peace process forward,” the statement further said.
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SLA kills two LTTE cadres in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 October 2006, 00:05 GMT]
Two LTTE cadres, allegedly on leave visiting their parents, were shot dead by the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) in two different interior villages in Batticaloa Saturday, Batticaloa District LTTE Deputy Political Head, S.Seeralan, said Sunday. Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have made arrangements to transfer the bodies to the LTTE, Seeralan further said.


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No agreement in Geneva on Humanitarian crisis, Tigers respond on pluralism and democracy

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 October 2006, 16:57 GMT]
The talks in Geneva ended Sunday without any agreement between the Parties, the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on the Humanitarian crisis and the re-opening of closed gateways. Responding on Democracy the Tigers said they were "more committed to the democratic principles" than the GoSL and challenged the GoSL to repeal the sixth amendment to the SL constitution as a token of its commitment to democracy and pluralism. The LTTE also challenged the GoSL to remove its armed forces from the Tamil homeland and allow the holding of a referendum under international supervision to ascertain the aspirations of the people in the homeland.
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Stressed Sri Lankan negotiators throw journalists out

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 October 2006, 14:26 GMT]
Sri Lankan government delegates in Geneva to negotiate peace with Tamil Tiger rebels were ‘under a lot of stress’ and wanted journalists removed from their hotel, diplomats told AFP on Sunday.
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Tigers warn Sri Lanka on military provocation in Northern Front

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 October 2006, 09:04 GMT]
LTTE's Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan, Sunday morning condemned the Sri Lankan armed forces for escalating the military hostilities by engaging in provocative offensive preparations and rehearsals in Northern Front in Jaffna while the Parties were engaged in talks in Geneva. Talking to media before entering the Conference Centre at rue de Varembé in Geneva, the Tiger military spokesman warned that any "Sri Lankan aggression, following the provocation, causing implications on the talks at this critical juncture, would have serious consequences."
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SLA intensifies deployment in Northern Front, curfew imposed

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 October 2006, 05:59 GMT]
Amid reports of deployment of additional troops and military hardware in Northern Front, Sri Lanka Army, from Palaly military base, Sunday morning announced curfew in villages near Northern Front Forward Defence Line (FDLs). Meanwhile, Sri Lankan troopers engaged in a major training exercise throughout Saturday night in Palaly, Thondamanarau lagoon and Valalai area in Vadamaradchy sector of the Jaffna district. The SLA rehearsal comes following a sudden visit by Sri Lanka Army commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka to Palaly Saturday as Parties, the GoSL and LTTE delegations were engaged in talks in Geneva, Switzerland.


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No progress on Humanitarian issues, CFA- Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 October 2006, 18:07 GMT]
First day of talks in Geneva between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers, focusing on the urgent humanitarian issues and the re-opening of A9 concluded without the parties agreeing to any measures to relieve the humanitarian crisis in the Tamil homeland, Liberation Tigers Political Head S.P Thamilchelvan told TamilNet.
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Talks should address democracy, human rights, development- GoSL

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 October 2006, 12:43 GMT]
Expressing hopes that the talks will build the "required atmosphere and move the country forward to the realization of a just and honorable peace," Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, in the opening speech on behalf of Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) Saturday morning said, GoSL's APC is "formulating a political and constitutional framework for the resolution of the national question." He said that despite provocations of the LTTE, GoSL is continuing the dialogue, and cautioned "LTTE not to consider GoSL's commitment to the peace process as a sign of weakness."
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Peace process depends on ceasefire implementation - LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 October 2006, 10:49 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers called Saturday for the full implementation of the February 2002 ceasefire agreement (CFA), saying "such actions will bring normalcy in the lives of our people, and help in taking forward the peace process towards a satisfactory conclusion." Addressing the opening session of the Norwegian facilitated negotiations in Geneva, LTTE's Political Head, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, said: "the best we can hope for from the current talks is therefore, the strengthening of the CFA agreement that has the potential to lead to a permanent, just peace in this island."
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Geneva Talks II begins

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 October 2006, 10:37 GMT]
"Developments in Sri Lanka in the past months have seriously endangered the peace process," said Switzerland Foreign Affairs Deputy Head Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini who gave the opening address wishing the facilitator and the Parties better understanding, in Geneva Saturday. Stressing the need for "confidence in the Norwegian Government as facilitator seeking ways to lead the delegations to a better mutual understanding, confidence in the other Party as a partner with whom one can engage," Ms. Heidi Tagliavini said the International Community the recent developments in Sri Lanka have caused considerable concern within the International Community.
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Is Colombo ready for a paradigm shift, asks TNA MP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 October 2006, 01:26 GMT]
A full scale war is unavoidable if the southern polity fails to timely demonstrate that it is ready for a paradigm shift in the approach to solving the Tamil national question, said Batticaloa District Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian S. Jeyanandamoorthy, speaking to TamilNet after meeting the LTTE delegation in Geneva Thursday.
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Batticaloa cultivators protest against SLA ban

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2006, 21:36 GMT]
Batticaloa cultivators demonstrated from 9:00 a.m to 12:00 noon Friday in front of Vantharumoolai Agricultural Productivity Centre demanding the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) lift the 2 month ban to take agricultural vehicles, implements, and fertilizer to their paddy lands in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held areas from Batti-Vallaichenai main road, civil society sources said.
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Fresh Sri Lankan offensive towards Vaharai repulsed - Ilanthirayan

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2006, 09:41 GMT]
An offensive launched by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) towards Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Vaharai region in the East was repulsed by the Tigers Friday, according to LTTE Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan, who was speaking to media from Geneva, Swtizerland.
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TNA appeals to UN: "GoSL uses Humanitarian crisis as tool of war"

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2006, 06:36 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) consisting 22 out of the 23 Tamil members elected to Sri Lankan Parliament from the NorthEast, in an appeal to the United Nations High Commissioners for Human Rights and Refugees, said that the Government of Sri Lanka was using the humanitarian crisis as a tool of war. Detailing the humanitarian situation prevailing in all the districts of NorthEast, the TNA charged that the GoSL was engaged in a policy to drive the Tamil civilian population out of the Trincomalee District. The TNA's appeal to UN comes a day before the talks in Geneva.
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TNA urges LTTE to prioritize opening of A9, warns humanitarian catastrophe in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 October 2006, 18:34 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in an urgent letter to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Thursday, noting that the humanitarian situation in Jaffna has reached critical levels since the closure of the A9 highway, appealed the Tigers to take-up the opening of the A9 highway as a matter of top priority at the forthcoming talks in Geneva. Sri Lanka Army conrolled Jaffna, with 653,755 persons, requires 11,000 Metric tons of food supplies per month. For the last three months, only 14,000 Metric tons of food items had been sent by ship, the short fall is 19,000 Metric tons. The fuel that is currently available is grossly inadequate.
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