Paramilitary issue raised in Congressional Hearing

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 March 2006, 02:19 GMT]
Congressman James A Leach, Chairman, Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, and Donald Camp, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, during a House Committee on International Relations, Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific Hearing on Recent Developments in Nepal held on 15 March 2006, mentioned the presence of armed paramilitary groups as one of the impediments to peace.
Full story >>

Thamilchelvan to meet Norway's Ambassador, TNA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 March 2006, 02:06 GMT]
Head of Liberation Tigers Political Wing, S.P.Thamilchelvan is to meet Norway's Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr Hans Brattskar, and a representative of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) at the LTTE Peace Secretariat Building Thursday, sources in Kilinochchi said. Thamilchelvan is also expected to meet the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians also in Kilinochchi on the 20th March, sources added.
Full story >>

Valaichenai protests against student abductions

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 March 2006, 11:19 GMT]
Valaichenai-wide hartal was observed and Valaichenai Hindu College in Batticaloa was closed Wednesday as protesters demanded the release of students, Jeyaraj Kirisanth and Suthaharan Kulosan, who were abducted by paramilitary cadres two days ago, sources in Batticaloa said. All public institutions, shops, banks, and hospitals were closed and the streets were deserted. Security was strengthened with increased police patrols and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers deployed at several key junctions, sources added.
Full story >>

Three youths abducted in Vavuniya, family dispute suspected

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 March 2006, 12:15 GMT]
Unidentified armed men has abducted three youths, two Muslims and one Tamil, Tuesday early morning at 1 a.m. in Pattanisoor area in Vavuniya, Officer in Charge of Vavuniya Police, Mr Tennekoon, said. Residents speculated that the abductions are linked to the relationship one of the abductees' brother had with a Tamil girl which the families were opposed to.
Full story >>

Seven more youths abducted in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 March 2006, 11:20 GMT]
Five Tamil youths, aged between 15 and 20 were arrested by Sinhala speaking persons and paramilitary cadres in military fatigue Monday around 3:00 p.m. inside the LTTE controlled Murithanai in Vaharai, residents said. All five youths were laborers, villagers said. Murithanai is 5 km west of Valaichenai where two youths were abducted by paramilitary cadres on Monday. Further 2 youths were kidnapped in Urani in Batticaloa around 6:00 p.m. Monday. Nine youths were reported missing in Batticaloa on Monday.
Full story >>

Amnesty fears for safety of disappeared TRO staffers

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 March 2006, 12:28 GMT]
Amnesty International in an Urgent Action release issued Friday expressed "grave concern" for the safety of the seven Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) staffers who were abducted on 29-30 January and are still missing. Amnesty urged all concerned to write to the Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence, Inspector General of Police and Sri Lanka's President Mr Mahinda Rajapakse to "undertake and complete as a matter of urgency thorough investigations into the fate and whereabouts of the seven," and to ensure safety of all TRO workers and the families of the missing.
Full story >>

NPC welcomes Geneva agreement, requests space for civil society during talks

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 February 2006, 12:53 GMT]
The National Peace Council (NPC) congratulates the Sri Lanka government and LTTE delegations for reaching agreement to "uphold the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA), and thereby to ensure an end to all violence, and to meet again to take the peace process forward," and requests the parties "to provide space at future peace talks for civic groups to be observers of the formal peace talks."
Full story >>

Regional Citizens Peace Committees to be established in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 February 2006, 03:38 GMT]
Decision to form Citizen Peace Committees to monitor and report on human rights violations across Jaffna district was taken in a meeting among Secretaries of Jaffna district local councils, presided by Additional Government Agent (AGA), A. Sivasamy, held at the Jaffna district Secretariat Friday, civil society sources in Jaffna said. Head of the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission, Rohitha Priyatharsana also participated in the meeting.
Full story >>

Swiss Government welcomes positive outcome of Geneva talks

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 February 2006, 11:33 GMT]
Welcoming the positive outcome of the talks in Geneva between the Liberation Tigers and the Government of Sri Lanka, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Government of Switzerland in a press release issued from Berne Thursday said, that it "voices the expectation that the parties to the conflict will respect the agreement they have concluded."


Full story >>

GoSL to disarm armed groups

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 February 2006, 18:09 GMT]
Norwegian Minister of International Development released a statement on behalf of the parties to the Sri Lanka conflict, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Thursday evening in Geneva. The GOSL is committed to taking all necessary measures in accordance with the Ceasefire Agreement to ensure that no armed group or person other than Government security forces will carry arms or conduct armed operations. The LTTE is committed to taking all necessary measures to ensure that there will be no acts of violence against the Sri Lankan forces and the police. The parties are to meet again in Geneva on April 19th for a second round of talks.
Full story >>

Sri Lanka Government's opening statement at Geneva

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 February 2006, 12:21 GMT]
"Ceasefire Agreement entered into between the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Mr. V. Prabhakaran, the leader of the LTTE on the 22nd February 2002 is contrary to our Constitution and law," declared Nimal Sripala De Silva, Head of the Sri Lankan delegation at the opening session of the talks between the Liberation Tigers and the Government of Sri Lanka.
Full story >>

Ceasefire Agreement is foundation of peace and must be implemented - Balasingham

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 February 2006, 10:19 GMT]
Describing the February 2002 ceasefire agreement (CFA) as the “most constructive achievement” of the Norwegian peace process and “the foundation upon which the process has to be built,” the Liberation Tigers’ Chief Negotiator and Political Strategist, Anton Balasingham said Wednesday the CFA had been agreed upon by both the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE after “careful and meticulous scrutiny” and crafted with the skilled assistance of the Norwegian facilitators.
Full story >>

Lankan Deep Penetration Unit retreats leaving behind Claymore mine - LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 February 2006, 14:31 GMT]
A team of Sri Lanka Army soldiers who entered LTTE controlled Mahilankulam 25 km southeast of Mannar near Iluppaikulam withdrew from the site when intercepted by an LTTE patrol, Media Coordinator of the Liberation Tigers, Daya Master told media Monday evening. The Sri Lankan soldiers had left behind a claymore mine when they withdrew from the site, he added.
Full story >>

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.
Full story >>

TRO expresses dismay, concern over Govt. allegations of non-cooperation

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 February 2006, 13:28 GMT]
Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) expressed "dismay and concern" over allegations made to the media by Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister, Mangala Samaraweera, and Cabinet spokesperson Priyadharsana Yapa, that TRO was not helping with ongoing investigations. TRO refuted these statements as politically motivated propaganda by the Sri Lanka Government aimed at discrediting the TRO, TRO officials told TamilNet. TRO said in a press release issued Friday from Colombo that it is fully cooperating with the investigations, and has provided detailed account of the actions taken by TRO from the time of abductions.
Full story >>

TNA MPs meet British Deputy High Commissioner

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 February 2006, 12:06 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Members of Parliament, Mavai Senathirajah, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, S. Jeyanandamoorthy and Sithamparanathan Pathmini met the British deputy high commissioner Lesley Craig, at the British High Commission in Colomobo on Friday at 10:00 a.m. and discussed the current humanitarian situation following the abductions and the escalating number of assassinations in the NorthEast, TNA sources said.
Full story >>

Preparations ahead of Geneva talks should focus on people's plight - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 February 2006, 07:58 GMT]
"One of the key issues in the February 2002 Cease Fire Agrement was ensuring a safe life to the civilians in Sri Lanka military controlled areas of the Tamil homeland," Liberation Tigers Political Head Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan told media, following a preparatory meeting with the Ambassadors of Norway and Swtizerland, at the LTTE Peace Secretariat in Kilinochchi Thursday. "It is therefore vital that the team participating in the talks, study the ground situation prevailing in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled areas," he added.
Full story >>

Norwegian NGO condemns abduction of aid workers

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 February 2006, 11:12 GMT]
FORUT, a Norwegian non-Governmental Organizaton that works in Sri Lanka, said in a press release issued 2 February that it "condemned strongly the abduction of 10 workers from TRO in eastern Sri Lanka," and urged the "Government of Sri Lanka to give highest priority to the investigation of these abductions."
Full story >>

Protest against kidnappings shuts down Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 February 2006, 09:12 GMT]
Entire Batticaloa district, on Monday, observed a shut down protest against the abductions of the seven humanitarian staffers of the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO). The protest, called by the employees of local and foreign NGOs, who abstained from work, also drew support from private businesses and public services. Shops and banks remained closed. Public offices and schools wore a deserted look. The fate of seven TRO staffers, who were abducted while travelling on the A11 Batticaloa - Polonnaruwa road, the Main Supply Route (MSR) of the Sri Lanka Army one week ago, is not yet known.
Full story >>

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.
Full story >>