Sinhala mob attempts to destroy Eelam cut-out during hartal

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 November 2004, 08:37 GMT]
Trincomalee Police Monday morning dispersed a group of Sinhalese that was attempting to pull down the large Tamil Eelam cutout erected in front of the Paththirakali Ambal Temple, during the general shut down in the eastern port town Monday. The cutout was erected in the heart of Trincomalee to mark the Heroes Day celebrations week. The cut-out is still standing, police said.
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NY Tamils celebrate Heroes Day

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 November 2004, 17:13 GMT]
Residents of New York and surrounding counties celebrated Heroes Day at Queens High School in Queens, New York, Saturday evening, event organizers said. Flag of the United States and of Tamil Eelam were jointly hoisted at the beginning of the event. Cultural events were held following floral tributes by the attendees to the memorial to 'Maaveerar' setup on stage.
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Colombo's new proposal aims to hurt NorthEast education- paper

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 November 2004, 13:58 GMT]
"Educational planning is Sri Lanka is not oriented towards the benefit of all its citizens, but is used as an instrument to suppress the progress of Tamils," said Uthayan in an editorial Thursday criticizing Sri Lanka Government's attempt to reintroduce merit system when the Northeast education is suffering from devastation of war. "When Tamils captured more places under the merit system, the SriLankan Government introduced the district quota system, and now when the Tamils are highly dependent on the district quota system the Government is out to topple this avenue," the editorial added.
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Trincomalee to observe general shut down

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 November 2004, 12:13 GMT]
Tamil Peoples Forum of Trincomalee District Sunday issued an appeal to the Tamils in the east port town to observe a one-day general shut down Monday condemning violent attacks on innocent Tamil civilians during the Maveerar Week celebrations in the Tamil districts of northeast province by members of State armed forces and chauvinist elements, sources said.
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TNA faults SLA for violence in Tamil districts

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 November 2004, 15:53 GMT]
"Unwarranted interference by the armed forces in the lives of the Tamil civilian population in the North-East must be brought to an end," said Mr.R.Sampanthan, leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary group in a statement of national public importance tabled in Parliament Saturday in regard to several violent incidents that had taken place in the districts of Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya and in Trincomalee during Heroes Day week.
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Tamil Tigers will launch freedom struggle if peace talks are further delayed - LTTE leader

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 November 2004, 12:39 GMT]
The leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Mr Velupillai Pirapaharan, in his annual statement marking Heroes’ Day, cautioned the Sri Lanka government that his organisation would be compelled to launch the freedom struggle of the Tamil nation if peace talks were further delayed and the suffering of his people continued. In an urgent appeal the LTTE leader called upon the Government of Sri Lanka to resume the peace talks, without conditions, on the basis of the Interim Self-Governing Authority as proposed by his organisation.
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LTTE Commanders speak on Pirapaharan's 50th

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 November 2004, 05:06 GMT]
Senior Commanders of the Liberation Tigers (LTTE) and Senior members of LTTE's Political Wing, sent congratulatory messages to the Leader of LTTE Velupillai Pirapaharan on reaching 50 years, France-based Tamil Television Network (TTN) reported.
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Foundation stone laid for Media Institute

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 November 2004, 16:38 GMT]
Rev. Father Mariyanayagam presided the ceremony marking the laying of foundation stone for a new Media Technology Institute in Ariviyal Nagar, Kilinochchi Friday. Senior Tamil Journalist S Kopalratnam and Head of Liberation Tigers Political Wing, S.P Thamilchelvan, laid the foundation stone for the new building, sources in Vanni said.
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Police use teargas to disperse JVP protestors

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 November 2004, 12:32 GMT]
Trincomalee Police used teargas to disperse a group of about three hundred Sinhala demonstrators led by Trincomalee district Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) parliamentarian Mr.Jayantha Wijesekara in front of the Trincomalee Police Headquarters, police sources said. A curfew imposed Friday afternoon around 2 p.m. in Trincomalee town after the incident but was lifted around 5 p.m. the same day.
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Tamils celebrate Pirapaharan's 50th birthday

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 November 2004, 11:53 GMT]
Tamil people in the NorthEast and countries across the world are celebrating the 50th birthday of the Leader of Liberation Tigers, Velupillai Pirapaharan, Friday, 26 November. There were special prayers in churches and temples. Pirapaharan has led the Tamil struggle through three Eelam wars since he founded Tamil New Tigers in 1972, at the age of 18, and later renamed the organisation as Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 1976.
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Tamils protest holding Governor's Conference during Heroes' week

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 November 2004, 01:30 GMT]
Tamil residents of Trincomalee expressed anger and resentment that the Sixth conference of provincial governors in Sri Lanka is to be held in Trincomalee from November 26 to November 28 to collide with arrangements to celebrate the Heroes Day during the same period, civil sources said. Representations made to the northeast provincial council authorities to postpone the conference have been ignored, Tamil sources in Trincomalee complain.
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Mannar situation calamitous- Thamilchelvan tells SLMM

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 November 2004, 13:02 GMT]
Head of Liberation Tigers Political Wing, S.P Thamilchelvan, in an urgent message to Head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Maj. Gen (retd) Trond Furuhovde described the situation in Mannar as "calamitous" that will lead to public unrest which is "totally undesirable" during the period of ceasefire and martyrs' day celebrations.
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“Budget ignores collective will of Tamil Nation”-Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 November 2004, 05:27 GMT]
Mr.R.Sampanthan, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary group leader speaking during the Budget debate in Sri Lanka's parliament Thursday morning, said that it is outrageous that the Finance Minister did not even consult the legitimate representatives of Tamil Nation. "The right to internal self-determination has been consistently denied to the Tamil people. This budget is yet another manifestation of that denial...Nothing can be more humiliating to the Tamil psyche than the non-recognition of their collective will. This situation if continued can have serious repercussions," he said.
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UPFA budget has no relief for Tamils - TNA

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 November 2004, 10:37 GMT]
''The maiden budget of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government has failed to address any remedy for the immediate humanitarian needs of the war-torn people of the northeast province who have suffered immensely for the past two decades of the war,'' said Mr.Joseph Pararajasingham, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) national list parliamentarian speaking on the budget debate in the parliament Wednesday.
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Sinhala clubs join Trinco Heroes' day sporting events

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 November 2004, 01:31 GMT]
The inaugural event of sports tournament organized by the Tamileelam Sports Section was held at the Trincomalee McHeyzer Stadium Monday. Of the sixteen teams that have entered the Volley Ball tournament all except two are from predominantly Sinhalese sports clubs including Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and Sri Lanka Police teams, according to tournament organizers.
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Southern Lanka reaps what it has sown - Jaffna Daily

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 November 2004, 07:17 GMT]
Southern Sri Lanka is now facing "the unenviable and pathetic situation" of having to meet the consequence of its "blind pursuit of the policy of militarization and weapons acquisition" said the Jaffna-based newspaper Uthayan in its editorial Tuesday, referring to the re-introduction of the execution of the death sentence by the Sri Lankan government. Deserters from the Sri Lanka Army, numbering in the tens of thousands, are among the main sources of rising crime in the south.
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Heroes' parents honoured in Trinco

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 November 2004, 02:43 GMT]
"The Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) in past abrogated pacts with Tamils because they were merely written on piece of paper. The current MoU was signed with the backing of our military strength. Sri Lanka Government knows the consequences of violating this agreement," said Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the LTTE addressing an event held Monday in Trincomalee to honour parents of LTTE martyrs of Trincomalee division as a part of Heroes Day celebrations.
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ISGA must be basis for talks- Gajendrakumar

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 November 2004, 00:31 GMT]
Speaking at a seminar on "Power Sharing for a lasting peace" held at the Social and Economic Development Center (SEDEC) in Colombo Saturday, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam said, "Tamil people believe that an interim administration is an essential prerequisite to embarking on talks for a solution to the conflict...and they will not allow the LTTE to give up the right to secession before the parties reach agreements on the outstanding core issues."
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Pandemonium in Parliament over Jaffna incidents

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 November 2004, 10:19 GMT]
Pandemonium reigned in the Sri Lankan Parliament as government MPs attempted to shout down the leader of the Tamil National Alliance, Mr. R. Sampanthan who wanted to make statement on the killings and unrest in Jaffna. Sittings were suspended for several minutes when TNA MPs gathered in the well of the house and shouted slogans agains the Sri Lankan government. "Don't kill Tamils, We will establish Eelam (separate Tamil state), End military occupation of the Tamil homeland", the TNA Parliamentarians chanted standing in the midst of the well.
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"SLA responsible for VVT killings" - LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 November 2004, 10:12 GMT]
Mr.C.Ilamparithi, LTTE Jaffna district political head in a statement issued Saturday said that the Sri Lanka Army should be held responsible for the brutal killing of two innocent Tamil youths in Valvettithurai on Friday evening as this dastardly crime had taken place in an area which is surrounded by several sentries and mini-camps of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA).
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