Newspaper distributor killed in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 September 2005, 08:06 GMT]
Two unidentified gunmen shot and killed Mr. Yogakumar Krishnapillai the distributor of the Batticaloa-Eelanatham newspaper. The killing took place in the heart of Batticaloa town on Central Road in front of HNB Bank, a high security area of Sri Lanka Army, Friday morning around 7:30 a.m. Batticaloa Eelanatham, the only newspaper in Batticaloa, is printed in the LTTE held Kokkadichholai. On 10 September, Sri Lankan Special Task Force soldiers blocked the sales of the Eelanatham paper in SLA controlled areas of Batticaloa and Amparai districts.
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Danish group declares areas in Kanniya, Thiriyai mine free

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 September 2005, 05:34 GMT]
About 10,000 square meter area in Kanniya and about 8,000 square meter area in Thiriyai in the Trincomalee district have been declared mine free by the Danish Demining Group (DDG), civil society sources in Trincomalee said. Mr.Magnus Johansson, Technical Advisor of the DDG Wednesday and Thursday handed over "Release of Land Certificates" to the civil authority in these villages.
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EU Declaration shatters peace hopes - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 September 2005, 09:18 GMT]
Warning that the European Union's declaration will be interpreted by Colombo as providing tacit support to its policies and therefore will likely harden Colombo's views and approach to the peace process, Political Head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, S. P. Thamilchelvan, told TamilNet Wednesday that the announced restriction on receiving LTTE delegations in EU countries, has ruined the trust Tamil people had in the EU, and has caused irreparable damage to prospects for peace.
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Muttur fishermen receive boats, nets

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 September 2005, 02:29 GMT]
Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) recently distributed a consignment of boats, canoes and fishing nets to a group of war and tsunami affected fisher families in Kadatkaraichchenai village in the LTTE controlled Muttur east as first phase under its rehabilitation project, south of the Trincomalee district, sources said.
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SLA's failure to honor agreement, leaves thousands stranded

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 September 2005, 01:43 GMT]
About five thousand Tamil people who came from LTTE controlled areas through Uyilankulam checkpoint to attend Tamil Resurgence Convention Wednesday were stranded in Mannar town when the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) failed to honor the agreement to reopen the checkpoint from 8 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. Wednesday, civil society sources said. During talks held earlier at Thallady main camp SLA agreed to Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians' request to keep the checkpoint open through extended hours.
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TNA MPs meet Japanese envoy

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 September 2005, 17:09 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians Mr. R.Sampanthan and Mr. Joseph Pararajasingam told the Japanese envoy in Colombo, Mr Akio Suda, Tuesday that International Community must play an unbiased role in advancing the the Sri Lankan peace process and expressed their concern over the stalled peace process between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Government, sources in Colombo said.
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TRO Batticaloa office attacked, one dead, two injured

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 September 2005, 16:09 GMT]
A 70-years-old storewatcher was killed when two motorbike-riding men lobbed grenades at the Tamil Rehabilitation Office located on Station Road near Batticaloa Railway station around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, police said. TRO in a news release said that the attackers fired with automatic rifles for 35 minutes at their office where the watcher was killed and two TRO's Technical Officers were injured. The attackers had lobbed at least three grenades at the TRO office, according to the Police. There are two Sri Lanka Army sentry points within 100 meters from the TRO office.
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Thamilchelvan urges EU to reconsider stand on LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 September 2005, 12:26 GMT]
Political Head of the Liberation Tigers, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan appealed to the European Union for reconsideration of the recent decision made by the EU that "delegations from the LTTE will no longer be received in any of the EU Member States until further notice." At a news conference held at Kilinochi, Wednesday evening, Mr. Thamilchelvan pointed out that the EU's move is ill-timed to coincide with the "anti-Tamil" campaign advanced through political propaganda platforms in the South.
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'EU Statement, an impediment to peace, says IFT

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 September 2005, 20:16 GMT]
Calling the statement from the European Union [EU], which criticised the Liberation Tigers, as one-sided and "unfair," the Geneva-based International Federation of Tamils (IFT), a consortium of more than 150 expatriate Tamil organizations, in a press statement issued Tuesday urged the member states of the European Union to refrain from taking any "punitive action" against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) noting that the move will jeopardise the success of the peace process.
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UNP manifesto promises to End Separatism

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 September 2005, 10:53 GMT]
Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, United National Party (UNP) presidential candidate and the Opposition Leader Tuesday morning officially released his forty-page manifesto for the forthcoming presidential poll at an event held at the UNP headquarters Sri Kotha with the participation of party senior leaders including Mr.Karu Jayasuriya, and Mr.Malik Samarawickrema, sources said.


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"LTTE no longer welcome in EU member states"

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 September 2005, 02:03 GMT]
The European Union Monday barred the Tamil Tigers from visiting its member states and said it was "actively considering" listing them as a terrorist organisation. Condemning what it referred to as the “continuing use of violence and terrorism by the LTTE,” the EU said it wanted the Tigers “ to take immediate public steps to demonstrate their commitment to the peace process and their willingness to change.”
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Retired Commanders denounce JVP Leader's call to disband Security Forces

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 September 2005, 00:52 GMT]
Retired commanders of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces, General S.C.Ranatunge, Air Vice Marshal Harry Gunatilake, Lt.General Dennis Perera and General Hamilton Wanasinghe, Monday in a signed press release condemned the statement made by Mr.Somawanse Amerasinghe, leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) directing the Prime Minister Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse to disband the government security forces no sooner he is elected Executive President of Sri Lanka if the security forces are unable to safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka.
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SLA extends checkpoint hours to assist Convention attendees

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 September 2005, 00:32 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) authorities in Thallady main camp in Mannar district Monday agreed to extend Uyilankulam checkpoint opening time by more than 2 hours on September 30 for the people from LTTE controlled area to enter Mannar town through Uyilankulam to attend Tamil Resurgence Convention. The SLA agreed to the request when Vanni district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians Mr.Sivanathan Kishore, Mr. Noharathalingam and Mr.Sivasakthi Anandan Monday morning met with Colonel Kariyakarawanse and sought assistance, sources said. The SLA also agreed not to deploy soldiers in the vicinity of the convention.
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HRC officials meet LTTE cadre in KKS Police Station

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 September 2005, 00:05 GMT]
Mr.Rohitha Priyatharsana, Jaffna regional co-ordinator of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) with his investigating officer Mr. T.Surendrarajah Monday met with Mr.Ramasamy Swendran (28) alias Manalan, a LTTE cadre from Pallai, who was arrested by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) within the Palaly high security zone in the Jaffna district and later handed over to the Kankesanthurai (KKS) Police, sources said.
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Thileepan's 18th anniversary celebrated in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 September 2005, 11:58 GMT]
Lt.Col.Thileepan's eighteenth death annivasary celebration was held at the Batticaloa Palugamam Throupathy Amman Kovil grounds between 10am and 3pm Monday, sources in Batticaloa said. Batticaloa district Liberation Tigers military commander Ramanan raised the Thamileelam national flag and LTTE Head of Administration Thangaiya lit the traditional oil lamp to begin the celebrations where several hundred Batticaloa residents and LTTE cadres attended.


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Thousands attend Kilinochchi, Jaffna Thileepan commemoration

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 September 2005, 11:47 GMT]
Thousands congregated at Murugan temple, Kilinochchi, Monday morning for the commemoration rally in memory of Lt.Col.Thileepan who died after a 12 day old hunger-strike protesting against the Indian IPKF and the Sri Lankan armed forces occupying the North-East.
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LTTE-SLMM hold talks in Pallai

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 September 2005, 14:20 GMT]
Mr.Hagrup Haukland, Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Friday met with Mr.C.Ilamparithi, Jaffna district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at the latter's district political office located in Pallai in the LTTE controlled Killinochchi district, sources in Jaffna said. Mr. Ari Pekka Nimella, Jaffna district head of the SLMM also met with Mr.Ilamprithi at the same venue on Saturday, sources said.
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LTTE - Muslim leaders meet, resolve Batticaloa land ownership

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 September 2005, 13:48 GMT]
More than sixty five percent of paddy lands owned by Muslims which were in possession of Tamil farmers in LTTE controlled areas of Paduwankarai in the Batticaloa were formally handed back to Muslims in a meeting at Mandavathady in Thalaiyadi Saturday. Mr. A. L. M. Saleem, Regional Manager of Amparai People's Bank who was part of the Muslim delegation attending the meetin said that the event marks significantly improving Tamil Muslim relationship in Batticaloa district.
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Parties should strictly adhere to Election Laws- Sri Lanka's Polls Chief

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 September 2005, 08:06 GMT]
The Commissioner of Elections has appealed for the cooperation of all political parties in the Presidential election on 17 November. Dayananda Dissanayake, explaining the arrangements for the election at a news conference held Friday issued a stern warning against vote rigging, lifting of ballot boxes, attacks on polling booths and other related violence, vowing to cancel the count at such centres.
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Expect a new war – newspaper

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 September 2005, 02:06 GMT]
Political events in Sri Lanka are overtaking the international efforts to create a lasting peace and it is only a matter of time before the island’s ascending Sinhala nationalist forces trigger a new war, the Tamil Guardian newspaper argued in its editorial this week. “If Sri Lanka is so preoccupied by dubious questions of [LTTE gaining] legitimacy that it is prepared to allow the disintegration of the ceasefire, what hope is there for negotiations on a political solution?” the English language Diaspora publication asked.


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