Sivaram memorial held at Colombo Tamil Sangam

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 April 2006, 15:05 GMT]
Speaking at the one year memorial event held at the Colombo Tamil Sangam by the Sri Lanka Tamil Media Alliance Friday evening, C.A. Jothilingam, a popular political analyst, called for making Sivram's death anniversary, a Day for remembering all journalists slain for their writings in Sri Lanka.
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Vigneswaran burial held in Anpuvallipuram

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 April 2006, 12:41 GMT]
The remains of slain Mr.V.Vigneswaran, President of Trincomalee District Tamil People's Forum (TDTPF) were buried in the cemetery in Anpuvallipuram, a suburb about 2 km. off Trincomalee, Tuesday evening, after being kept in the Trincomalee Town Hall for members of public to pay last respects from morning to noon and thereafter till 3 p.m. in Anpuvallipuram Kalaimagal Vidiyalayam. Large number of people attended the funeral. Mr.Vigneswaran was shot dead on Friday morning inside the Bank of Ceylon premises located in the high security zone in Trincomalee town by an unidentified armed men.
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Local elections in NorthEast likely to be postponed

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 March 2006, 10:40 GMT]
A final decision to conduct elections to local government authorities in the North East is to be announced by the Commissioner of Elections this week after consultations with NorthEast district returning officers, political sources in Colombo said. Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse last week agreed in policy to postpone the local elections in the NorthEast local authorities at meeting with a delegation of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) led by its parliamentary group leader Mr.R.Sampanthan, sources added.
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TNA rejects JVP's claimed right to nominate CC member

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 March 2006, 00:07 GMT]
As the dispute among the 'minority parties,' Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in selecting the sixth member of the Constitutional Council continue to stymie CC from functioning, the Speaker Mr.W.M.J.Lokkubandara has asked the Leader of the House, Mr Sripala de Silva, to speak to the leaders of the three parties to resolve the matter urgently, parliamentary sources said.


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Creation of new Trincomalee DS divisions causes concern

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 March 2006, 12:26 GMT]
Mr.R.Sampanthan, Trincomalee district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian raised concern over an attempt to create two more new divisional secretariat divisions, one in the north and the other in the south, in the Trincomalee district. "It is my view that consensus of people within the existing divisions should be sought on such matters. There should not be any attempt to impose a decision on any people," Mr.Sampanthan said in a letter to the Government Agent of Trincomalee district.


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EU Election Observation Mission chief visits Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 March 2006, 06:33 GMT]
John Cushnahan, the chief of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EOM) to Sri Lanka will arrive in Colombo on Monday to present the full and final report on the 2005 Presidential election. A press release issued by the EU organisation said "the report will make a number of major recommendations for strengthening the electoral process in Sri Lanka." Mr. Cushnahan will meet President Mahinda Rajapakse, the UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, and the leaders of Sri Lanka’s other main political parties.
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NCP Chief Minister appointed to lead Trincomalee development

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 February 2006, 16:43 GMT]
The President Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse has appointed Mr.Bertilal Dissanayake, Chief Minister of the North Central Province in charge of the development activities in the Trincomalee district. Mr.Dissanayake Monday presided over the conference held in Trincomalee district secretariat pertaining to the development of the district, district secretariat sources said.
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TRO abductions, GoSL response may stall Geneva talks - TNA

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 February 2006, 14:10 GMT]
"We are concerned that the continued deterioration of ground situation in the NorthEast and the abduction of TRO staff members by paramilitaries can potentially prevent Liberation Tigers' participation in Geneva talks," said Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians after a meeting with Head of the LTTE Political Wing, S.P Thamilchelvan at the LTTE Peace Secretariat in Kilinochchi at 11 a.m. Saturday. "Colombo has openly attempted to discredit the LTTE by making misleading statements to the International Community on the recent abductions of TRO staff by the paramilitary cadres," they added. The meeting lasted for more than three hours sources in Kilinochchi said.
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Sri Lanka continues to violate state obligations towards Tamils, say Tamil parties

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 January 2006, 00:20 GMT]
The Government of Sri Lanka not only failed to carry out proper investigations into the assasinations of reputed Tamil leaders, parliamentarians, journalists and activists, but it has also failed to take appropriate actions to prevent the recurrence of such crimes against the ordinary Tamil civilians, all four Tamil parties in the Lankan parliament charged in a joint memorandum sent to SL President Mahinda Rajapakse Friday. The joint statement was issued by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), Upcountry Peoples' Front (UPF) and Western Province Peoples' Front (WPPF) that jointly staged a protest campaign within the chambers of the Sri Lankan Parliament.
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State terrorism rising in NorthEast, say Tamil MPs

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 January 2006, 15:31 GMT]
"Violence and terror unleashed by the State armed forces is on the increase in the North East province. Fifty Tamil civilians have been abducted in the Jaffna district within few months. From December 1 to January 12 the State armed forces and para military groups in Jaffna have killed thirty-one Tamil civilians. Forty-two Tamils have been killed in other districts of the province," said leaders of Tamil political parties addressing a press briefing after their protest in parliament Tuesday morning.


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Tamil MPs protest in parliament against killings in NorthEast

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 January 2006, 07:56 GMT]
Pandemonium prevailed in the Sri Lankan parliament Tuesday when it met for the first time in the new year 2006 following the protest held by parliamentarians of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), Upcountry Peoples' Front (UPF) and Western Province Peoples' Front (WPPF) against the killing of parliamentarian Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, rape and murder of a girl, Tharshini, in Pungudutivu, killing of five Tamil students in Trincomalee and several Tamil civilians by the Sri Lankan armed forces and the paramilitary groups and the arbitrary arrests of Tamil civilians in Colombo, parliamentary sources said.
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Sri Lanka's President meets TNA delegation

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 January 2006, 05:31 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse and a delegation of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) led by its parliamentary group leader Mr.R.Sampanthan began Saturday around 11 a.m. at Temple Trees at the invitation of the SL President, parliamentary sources in Colombo said. The discussion currently is in progress, government sources said.
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Trincomalee suburbs tensed as SLA builds new sentry

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 January 2006, 15:59 GMT]
Tension prevails in Anpuvallipuram and Abeyapura, suburbs of the Trincomalee town located off about 2 km northwest along Trincomalee-Kandy highway following attempts by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to set up a new sentry since Friday afternoon. Tamils live in Anpuvallipuram and Sinhalese reside in the adjoining suburb Abeyapura. The new sentry near the junction, which leads to Anpuvallipuram has drawn the opposition of Tamil families, civil sources said.
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Security strengthened for students' funeral, hartal relaxed

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 January 2006, 01:52 GMT]
Trincomalee residents in large numbers Wednesday paid their last respects to the five Tamil students killed Tuesday whose bodies were kept in their respective houses located in the east port town, sources in Trincomalee said. The students, all under the age of 20, were shot dead execution style by members of the Sri Lanka State armed forces Tuesday night at 7.50 p.m. in front of the Trincomalee Dutch Bay sea beach when they had gathered at the roundabout to spend the evening there.
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TNA accuses Security forces of killing Tamil youth in Trinco

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 January 2006, 15:53 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Tuesday charged that the State armed forces have killed five Tamil youths in Trincomalee town and injured two others. "The five youths killed came by their death as a result of gunshot injuries. The terror of the State's armed forces has been unleashed against the Tamil people. It would be futile for the State to think that the Tamil people can be suppressed in this way," TNA said in its press release issued Tuesday.


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Colombo's bona fides for peace, suspect- TNA

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 December 2005, 17:11 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in a press release issued Monday said the assassination of Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham raises serious doubts in regard to the genuineness of the Government's commitment to the honest and purposeful pursuit of the peace process. "We consider it our duty to point out that the assassination of Mr. Pararajasingham, a Tamil leader unequivocally committed to the resolution of the Tamil question by peaceful means is a serious blow to the credibility of the peace process," the statement said.


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Indian High Commissioner meets TNA delegation

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 December 2005, 16:51 GMT]
A delegation of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Friday met with the Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Ms Nirupama Rao and discussed at length the current situation, concerns on potential breakdown of CeaseFire Agreement (CFA), and the urgent need to restart the peace process. The TNA delegation impressed upon the High Commissioner the need for peace talks to commence without further delay, Mr.R.Sampanthan, TNA parliamentary group leader said in a press release Friday.
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Rajapakse meets TNA delegation

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 December 2005, 11:19 GMT]
A high level discussion between the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians led by its parliamentary group leader R.Sampanthan is currently in progress in the SL President's Office in Colombo. The meeting began around 4:00 p.m. Wednesday at the urgent request of the Tamil National Alliance, political sources said.
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TNA MPs protest, pandemonium in SL Parliament

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 December 2005, 11:24 GMT]
Pandemonium reigned in Sri Lanka Parliament Tuesday morning when Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians protested and shouted slogans against the firing on the Tamil civilians in Jaffna Monday injuring several undergrads and university teachers when they were proceeding in a peaceful march to the office of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), sources said.
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Withdraw armed forces from civilian inhabited areas in NE- TNA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 December 2005, 09:50 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in a statement tabled in parliament Tuesday demanded the Sri Lanka government to withdraw all armed forces from all civilian inhabited areas in the North East. TNA further called the government to take disciplinary and legal action against all members of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces who are responsible for the attack on Tamil civilians in Jaffna district in the last several days.
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