Buddhist monk warns of disruptive forces in Trinco

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 October 2002, 13:26 GMT]
Venerable Dodantuwe Thammanatha Thero of Mahamayapura Buddhist temple in Trincomalee town said that miscreants are bent on instigating clashes in the eastern district by portraying the Liberation Tigers as anti- Singhalese. He was addressing a peace conference at the Trincomalee Police Headquarters to promote reconciliation between all communities in the eastern port town Thursday evening. The Buddhist monk showed the audience a leaflet printed in Sinhala stating that LTTE leader Mr. Pirapaharan considers the Singhalese as his enemies.
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Helgesen to visit Jaffna, Vanni, South

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 October 2002, 11:37 GMT]
A Norwegian delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen will visit Sri Lanka next week and holding meetings with the government and the leadership of the Liberation Tigers. In a statement issued Friday, the Norwegian embassy in Colombo said the delegation would also meet President Chandrika Kumaratunga, the Parliamentary opposition, international ceasefire monitors and representatives from the civil society and the business community.
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Abducted Akkaraipattu Muslim youth returns home, police interrogate

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 October 2002, 06:11 GMT]
Akkaraipattu police Friday morning arrested S.M.Abdul Wajeed (24), the Muslim youth who was reported abducted, at his home. He was immediately taken to the Akkaraipattu police station for interrogation.
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'Douglas Devananda not questioned over journalist’s murder' - RSF

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 October 2002, 03:50 GMT]
The international media watchdog, Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) Friday slammed Police investigators inquiring into the murder of Jaffna journalist Mayilvaganam Nimalarajan for never questioning persons who might have been behind the murder. Gunmen suspected to be members of the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) murdered Nimalarajan at his residence on October 19 2000.
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Muslim leaders call to abandon 'hartal', curfew re-imposed

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 October 2002, 21:38 GMT]
The Federation of Mosques in Akkaraipattu Thursday evening issued an appeal to Muslims of the area to abandon their 'hartal' (general shut down) from today. Meanwhile the Police re-imposed a fifteen-hour curfew in Akkaraipattu, a Muslim dominated town in the eastern province Thursday afternoon from three p.m. to diffuse tension between the Tamil and Muslim communities following the abduction of a Muslim youth.
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Tigers say Akkaraipattu incidents instigated

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 October 2002, 12:50 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers Thursday called on Muslims and Tamils identify divisive forces bent on creating chaos in Akkaraipattu. The Tigers issued a leaflet Thursday in the south-eastern town stating that the problem was instigated by evil elements for profit. “We will never disrupt the peace. This is certain. Some interested parties have hidden Abdul Wajid to achieve their selfish motives. Tamils and Muslims should resolve to live as brothers. We should always resolve our differences through negotiation”, the leaflet states.
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Diplomatic delegation meets Balasingham

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 October 2002, 19:52 GMT]
An eight-member diplomatic delegation from Denmark, Greece and Italy held discussions with the Mr.Anton Balasingham, LTTE's chief negotiator, in Killinochchi, Wednesday. The diplomats expressed their fullest support to the current peace process and assured their readiness to provide funds for Northeast development and de-mining in the province, LTTE sources in Vanni said.
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Landmark SC judgment in PTA case

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 October 2002, 17:41 GMT]
The Supreme Court Wednesday set aside the conviction by a High Court and acquitted the accused in a Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) case. The three-member bench of the SC, which heard the appeal of the accused, held that "it is contrary to law to punish a person only on his confession without any corroborative evidence against him." The SC bench comprised Justices C.V.Vigneswaran, Mark Fernando and Ameer Ismail.
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Jaffna Media Research Centre opened with Danish aid

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 October 2002, 17:38 GMT]
The High Commissioner of Demark for India who is also accredited to Sri Lanka, Wednesday, declared open the Media Research and Training Centre in the Jaffna University. " Eleven member countries in the European Union (EU) are wholeheartedly supporting the peace process now being taken forward with the sole intention of finding a lasting political solution to the conflict in Sri Lanka," said Mr. Michael Steraberg, High Commissioner of Denmark when addressing a gathering following the opening of the centre.
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Norwegians to meet Pirapaharan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 October 2002, 12:26 GMT]
A Norwegian delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgessen will meet the leader of the Liberation Tigers, Mr. V. Pirapaharan, in Vanni, next week, the Voice of Tigers Radio announced Wednesday, quoting Mr. Anton Balasingham, the LTTE’s chief negotiator. Mr.Balasingham arrived in Vanni Tuesday from London.
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Furuhovde calls for ‘patience, justice and courage’

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 October 2002, 11:34 GMT]
Whilst the recent violence in Ampara and Trincomalee has shown how "fragile and sensitive the situation is at this time in the peace process," the leadership of the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers "are are determined to promote the peaceful situation in Sri Lanka so that the peace talks can succeed," the head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Major General Trond Furuhovde said Wednesday.
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British MPs tour Jaffna, Vanni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 October 2002, 04:52 GMT]
Progress in peace talks will largely determine if Britain will lift the ban on the LTTE or not, said Mr.Gareth Thomas, British Member of Parliament, Tuesday after visiting Jaffna and Vanni areas accompanied by Mr.Robert Evans, Member of European Parliament.
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Sinhala nationalists step up campaign against talks

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 October 2002, 20:21 GMT]
The Sinhala Nationalist Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP, People’s Liberation Front) vowed Tuesday to bring down Prime Minister Ranil Wicremesinghe’s government and defeat its peace negotiations with the Liberation Tigers. The JVP launched a campaign last week to convince Sinhalese that the peace process is a ruse to divide the island.
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Balasinghams arrive in Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 October 2002, 09:56 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers’ chief negotiator and political advisor, Mr.Anton Balasingham, and his wife, Adele, arrived in Vanni around 10.15 a.m. Tuesday, LTTE sources in Kilinochchi said. Mr. Balasingham arrived by a Sri Lanka Air Force helicopter from Colombo.
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Thirukkovil resentful, STF said concocting evidence

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 October 2002, 13:02 GMT]
“The Special Task Force will pose a dire threat to our lives as long it remains in this region. There is no security now for farmers who have to pass the Kanjirankudah STF camp to cultivate their fields. The sole access to more than twelve thousand acres of our people’s fields is controlled by the STF which has no qualms about killing us like animals,” said Mr. Ariyanayagam Chandra Nehru, the sole Tamil MP for the Amparai District, Monday.
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TNA calls for Tamil home guard

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 October 2002, 03:12 GMT]
The security of the Tamil people can no longer be left in the hands of Sinhala dominated Army and Police, the Trincomalee district parliamentarian of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Mr. R. Sampanthan, told Sri Lanka’s Interior Minister, Mr. John Amaratunge Sunday afternoon. Arguing “the security of Tamils should be entrusted to Tamil youths,” the TNA leader urged the Minister to take immediate steps to form home guards units comprising Tamils.
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Buddhist monks slam Tigers, Tamils at Trinco review

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 October 2002, 03:09 GMT]
The conference convened Sunday morning at Trincomalee district secretariat and presided over by Sri Lanka's Interior Minister Mr. John Amaratunge was apparently meant to review the security situation in the eastern port town. But there was no Tamil or Muslim representation – because the authorities didn’t even notify local representatives. Instead, Buddhist monks dominated the conference – which was conducted entirely in Sinhalese - hurling allegations against the Liberation Tigers and the Tamil community.
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Thousands attend funerals in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 October 2002, 14:15 GMT]
Thousands attended the funerals in Trincomalee of three civilians killed in Friday's grenade attack blamed on Sri Lanka Police and Sinhala paramilitaries. The funerals were held Sunday at the Hindu cemetery in Trincomalee, following last respects at the Trincomalee Hindu Cultural Hall from 1 p.m. till around 3 p.m.
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LTTE, Sri Lanka military meet over civilian deaths

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 October 2002, 20:17 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers Saturday requested international ceasefire monitors to take immediate action against those responsible for Friday's gun and grenade attack on Tamil civilians in Trincomalee and demanded Sri Lankan military commanders take steps to prevent future attacks on civilians.
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STF atrocities intended to scuttle peace – Karuna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 October 2002, 11:16 GMT]
“The peace talks in Thailand have created confidence among our fighters and our people. In this context, the actions of the STF are aimed at scuttling the peace talks. Our people have faith in future negotiations. But the STF’s atrocities are sowing doubts and confusion in their minds. However, we are observing the ceasefire with vigilance according to the instructions of our national leader,” Col. Karuna, senior commander of the Liberation Tigers in charge of the Batticaloa Ampara districts, told Maj. Gen. (ret) Trond Furhovde, the head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission.
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