LTTE, Muslim leaders meet in Muttur

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 January 2006, 15:03 GMT]
A discussion between the leaders of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Trincomalee and a twenty-member delegation of Muslim religious and civil leaders in Muttur division was held Saturday afternoon in the LTTE district political secretariat in Sampoor in Muttur east in the presence of the members of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), sources said. The discussion centered on exploring ways to resolve differences and to promote mutual understanding between the two communities. The meeting follows in the wake of the formation of an armed Muslim group in Muttur division.
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Balasingham leaves for UK

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 January 2006, 11:32 GMT]
LTTE's Chief Negotiator and Political Strategist Mr. Anton Balasingham, left Kilinochchi Saturday at 9:30 a.m. to Katunayake in a Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) helicopter, facilitated by Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) officials.
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EU commends Solheim, welcomes LTTE, GoSL agreement

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 January 2006, 15:39 GMT]
The European Union welcomed the agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the LTTE to have talks in Geneva, and praised Norway's Minister of International Development, Erik Solheim, for his "longstanding and untiring efforts" for peace in Sri Lanka, in press release issued Friday. The office of Julian Wilson, Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Sri Lanka and the Maldives in Colombo, issued the release.


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Kapilan slaying, a provocative act - LTTE official

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 January 2006, 15:33 GMT]
The funeral of Major Kapilan, a senior Liberation Tigers cadre, who was killed in an ambush attack, allegedly carried out by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and paramilitary cadres Thursday in Vadamunai in Batticaloa district, was held in Tharavai war heroes' cemetery, 70 km Northwest of Batticaloa town Friday.
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UK welcomes LTTE, GoSL agreement

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 January 2006, 11:35 GMT]
The British Foreign and Commonwealth office in a press release issued Thursday welcomed the agreement between Liberation Tigers and the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) to talks and said the British Government "strongly appreciates and supports the efforts of Erik Solheim and his Norwegian colleagues in their important facilitation work.”
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Japan welcomes talks agreement

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 January 2006, 13:12 GMT]
The Government of Japan in a press release issued Thursday welcomed the agreement between the Liberation Tigers and the Government of Sri Lanka to have talks in Geneva, and said it hopes that the escalation of violence in the NorthEast will stop.
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LTTE official killed in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 January 2006, 12:12 GMT]
An LTTE official, Major Kapilan, was killed and at least one cadre was wounded when Sri Lankan Intelligence operatives and paramilitary cadres ambushed a LTTE tractor in LTTE held area in Vadamunai near Welikande in Batticaloa-Polannaruwa border, Thursday around 9 a.m., LTTE sources in Batticaloa said. Sri Lanka Army's 23-1 Brigade camp in Welikande backed up the withdrawing ambush group with 5" mortar fire from their base, the sources added. Meanwhile, S.Puleedevan, the Director of LTTE's Peace Secretaraiat, speaking from Kilinochchi, condemned the attack on their cadres in the east and accused Colombo for playing "double game, betraying its pledge to cease the violent campaign."
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Switzerland welcomes decision to hold talks in Geneva

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 January 2006, 11:55 GMT]
"Switzerland welcomes the decision by the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to hold talks on the implementation of the Cease Fire Agreement in Switzerland," and "Switzerland is ready to provide Norway with its utmost support and hopes that the talks can get underway as soon as possible," said a press release issued by the Swiss Government in Berne Wednesday.
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LTTE releases Sri Lanka Policeman

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 January 2006, 10:17 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eleam released Thursday one of the three Sri Lankan policemen held in custody since September 2005 for illegally entering into Liberation Tigers controlled area. S.Thangan, Deputy Head of the Political Wing handed over the policeman to Liaison Officer of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), LTTE sources in Kilinochchi said. The policeman was handed over Sri Lankan Government Security Forces in Vavuniya, the SLMM said.
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US welcomes agreement to hold peace talks in Geneva

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 January 2006, 09:10 GMT]
United States Department of State issued a statement on Tuesday welcoming the the agreement by the Sri Lankan government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to hold peace talks in February in Geneva and commending the Norwegian Special Envoy Erik Solheim for his effort in advancing the process. "The United States remains fully committed to the Sri Lankan peace process," said Sean McCormack, spokesman for the Department of State in the statement issued in Washington DC.
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Ensure end of violence before talks - NPC

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 January 2006, 07:42 GMT]
National Peace Council (NPC), a Colombo based Peace Group, in a press release issued on Thursday urged the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers to ensure that the present violence is ended. "It is only then that the decision to negotiate will become meaningful and a change of strategy will be demonstrated," the organisation said.
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LTTE, GoSL to hold talks on truce implementation in Geneva

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 January 2006, 08:23 GMT]
Liberation Tigers said Wednesday that they have agreed to hold talks in Geneva with the Government of Sri Lanka on "smooth implementation" of the February 2002 Cease Fire Agreement. Chief Negotiator and Political Strategist of the Liberation Tigers, Mr. Anton Balasingham, told reporters that the talks, expected to begin in mid-February, would be limited to the implementation of the truce which has come under increasing strain recently. Talks on further matters could only take place after complete cessation of the Sri Lankan military's violent repression of the population in Government held areas of the Northeast, he said.
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Erik Solheim arrives in Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 January 2006, 06:35 GMT]
The meeting between the Norwegian Minister of International Development Mr. Erik Solheim and the Leader of the Liberation Tigers, Mr. V. Pirapaharan, began at 11:25 a.m. in Kilnochchi, LTTE officials said. The Norwegian Minister, upon his arrival at 10:35 a.m., had a meeting with the officials of NorthEast Secretariat on Human Rights (NESOHR) and a group of parish priests from Jaffna and Mullaithivu districts, NESOHR sources said.
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SL Intelligence, paramilitaries responsible for Manipay, Kodikamam killings - NESOHR

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 January 2006, 01:07 GMT]
NorthEast Secretariat on Human Rights (NESOHR) in the case histories of Manipay killing of three members of the same family and the killing of a 15 year old youth in Kodikamam, released this week, provides details of involvement of Sri Lanka Intellligence operatives and paramilitary cadres belonging to Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) in the killings.
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Journalist killed for reporting on paramilitary abuses- RSF

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 January 2006, 18:23 GMT]
Reporters sans frontières (RSF) in a press release issued Tuesday said that Subramaniyam Sugirdharajan, a correspondent of the Tamil-language daily Sudar Oli was killed for writing about "abuses committed in his region by Tamil paramilitary groups," and that in Sri Lanka, "the impunity enjoyed by the instigators and perpetrators of these murders encourages more violence against the press."
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Intelligence Chief Zacky in Jaffna to step up campaign

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 January 2006, 12:40 GMT]
Director of Military Intelligence (DMI) Brigadier Rizvy Zacky, a hardliner, has been recently posted as Brigadier General Staff Officer (GSO, Intelligence) at the Sri Lanka Army Head Quarters (SF HQ) Jaffna in a major reshuffle of the SLA and Intelligence apparatus. Execution-style killings of five students in Trincomalee and three women members of a family in Jaffna mark a stark change of pattern in the escalation of intensified serial killings of non-combatant civilians in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled areas in the NorthEast. The pattern of violence also marks the return of hardliners who seems to prefer terror to subdue a population.
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FMM condemns killing of Tamil journalist

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 January 2006, 11:17 GMT]
Expressing shock and dismay at the killing of Tamil journalist Mr Sugirdharajan, the Free Media Movement (FMM) in a press release issued Tuesday in Colombo said, "It is time to put a complete stop to the impunity which has been the hallmark of attacks on the freedom of expression in this country and ensure that culprits are arrested and held account for their crimes."
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LTTE condemns Tamil journalist's killing

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 January 2006, 05:46 GMT]
Trincomalee district political section of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Tuesday condemned the killing of Mr.S.S.Rajan, Trincomalee correspondent of the Colombo based Tamil daily 'Sudar Oli'. "Para military groups collaborating with the Sri Lanka Army had committed this murder", LTTE accused in a statement released Tuesday, sources said.
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LTTE, GoSL dialogue imperative for peace, says Burns

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 January 2006, 16:17 GMT]
"We hope that the LTTE will understand that it will have no relationship with my government and, indeed, no effective relationship with any country in this world as long as it seeks to redress its own grievances through the barrel of a gun. Now, we understand the Tamil community here has legitimate grievances, and legitimate issues that ought to be addressed by the government. And there out to be a dialogue, a better dialogue, between the government and the Tamil community," said US Undersecretary of Political Affairs, Nicholas Burns, in a press briefing in Colombo Monday.
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Solheim to meet LTTE leaders in Kilinochchi Wednesday

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 January 2006, 12:20 GMT]
Norwegian Minister of International Development and peace envoy, Mr. Erik Solheim, will be traveling to Kilinochchi on Wednesday to meet with the leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), sources from Kilinochchi said.
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