U.S Congressman speaks on Sri Lanka violence

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 October 2004, 02:06 GMT]
Republican Iowa Congressman James A. Leach, chairman of the Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific of the House International Relations Committee, expressed concern about the rising level of political violence in Sri Lanka and called for a resumption of the peace talks between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, in a statement before the U.S House of Representatives issued October 7 and distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State.
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Tigers dismiss split reports as 'psy-ops gimmick'

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 October 2004, 16:17 GMT]
Commander of the Sea Tigers, Col. Soosai, will be the special guest at the final day rally to mark the women's day of the Liberation Tigers, Mr. Daya Master, media co-ordinator of the LTTE told TamilNet Saturday. He said Col. Soosai will deliver the keynote address at the public meeting. Meanwhile, Daya Master dismissed reports in Sinhala and English papers in Colombo that Col. Soosai, Col.Sornam and senior commander Ram had split from the LTTE. "It is just another pathetic psy ops gimmick of the Sri Lankan government", he said.
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Identification parade to be held in Jaffna assault

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 October 2004, 16:22 GMT]
An identification parade will be held in Jaffna magistrate's court next week to identify the policemen who assaulted Jaffna regional co-ordinator of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) in the Jaffna police station few days ago, legal sources said.
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Shadow war endangering CFA- paper

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 October 2004, 11:13 GMT]
"Attempts by the Sri Lankan armed forces to use renegade commander Karuna to destabilize the east, have resulted in the continuation of killings that started in Batticaloa and extended to Colombo. Military analysts have characterized this scenario as a shadow war between the LTTE and the Sri Lanka Army. This situation should be brought under control immediately to avoid breakdown of ceasfire," said Thinakkural in its editorial Thursday.
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General shut down paralyses Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 October 2004, 07:52 GMT]
The entire Trincomalee town except few settlements where Sinhalese live in majority was paralysed Friday when Tamils and Muslims observed a general shut down (‘hartal’) responding to the call of the Trincomalee Tamil People’s Forum (TTPF). The ‘hartal’ is organised to express opposition to construction of new Buddhist shrines (vihares) and Sinhala settlements in traditional Tamil villages in the Trincomalee district after the ceasefire came into operation about two and half years ago and chauvinist elements making Trincomalee a centre for their racist activities, organisers said.
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Life sentence on Tamil youth quashed, acquitted

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 October 2004, 05:12 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Court of Appeal Thursday quashed the life sentence imposed on a Tamil youth Mr.Mylwaganam Wijeyaratnam who was charged under the Prevention of terrorism Act (PTA) and acquitted him from all charges indicted by the Attorney General.
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Peace Council will exacerbate contradictions- paper

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 October 2004, 11:04 GMT]
"Sri Lanka President Ms Kumaratunge's tactic to show that the peace process is being continued, while avoiding talks with the LTTE will only exacerbate contradictions among the southern political parties and will not create consensus," said Thinakkural, a popular Tamil daily published in Colombo in its editorial today.
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'Will defeat Colombo's international safety net'- LTTE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 October 2004, 18:03 GMT]
''The Sinhala state is trying to weave an international safety net against Tamils. Our political action committe is explaining the legitimacy of our struggle to the international community to defeat such machinations of the Sinhala state. We will never allow Sinhala nationalists or thier allies to defeat our struggle. The Sri Lankan President is not sincere about the peace process'', said Mr. C. Ilamparithy, head of LTTE's political division for Jaffna Tuesday evening.
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Norwegian Ambassador to visit Southern Province

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 October 2004, 11:32 GMT]
The Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr. Hans Brattskar, will this week pay a three days visit to Matara and Galle districts in the Southern Province, the Royal Norwegian Embassy said in a Press Release issued in Colombo Tuesday. The Norwegian Government has contributed 160 million rupees to new information technology for the Sri Lanka higher education sector, including the Ruhuna University, and 115 million rupees to the development of rural roads in the Southern Province.
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CID records statement of Human Rights official

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 October 2004, 02:36 GMT]
Criminal Investigation Department of the Police recorded the statement of Mr.Ruwan Chandrasekara, Jaffna regional co-ordinator of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka when he was in HRCSL head office in Colombo regarding the alleged assault on him last week in the Jaffna police station by a group of policemen, HRCSL sources said.
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UNF, TNA, JHU boycott SL President's Council on Peace

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 October 2004, 01:58 GMT]
United National Front (UNF), Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) boycotted the event as Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga inaugurated the National Advisory Council on Peace and Reconciliation (NACPR) Monday afternoon in Colombo. NAC has been publicized by the Sri Lanka Government as a mechanism to seek "wide spectrum of views" to resolve the ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka.
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Estate workers demand wage increase

[TamilNet, Sunday, 03 October 2004, 14:24 GMT]
Over thousands of Upcountry workers staged a protest campaign at Hatton main market, today afternoon, demanding increase in salary for estate workers and demanding that Collective Agreement (CA) should include other trade unions and should not be exclusive to Ceylon workers congress (CWC), sources in Hatton said.
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SLA bars priest, trustees from entering temple

[TamilNet, Sunday, 03 October 2004, 13:15 GMT]
Sri Lanka army Sunday refused permission to the priest and trustees of the Nagathambiraan temple in Nagarkoil to enter the place of worship for its annual pongal ceremony. The Nagathambiraan temple of Nagarkoil was taken over by Sri Lanka army in 2000. Permission to hold the annual pongal (cooking of milk rice) was granted to the priest and some trustees by the Sri Lankan military after Liberation Tigers and Colombo signed a cease fire agreement in 2002.
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Journalist author releases book on Koneswaram Temple

[TamilNet, Saturday, 02 October 2004, 15:36 GMT]
Pilgrimage to Holy Thirukoneswaram (Thirukoneswara Thiruthala Yathirai), a research book on historic Trincomalee Koneswaram Temple and the history ofTrincomalee is to be released on October 2 at an event held in London Muthumariamman Temple located at Upper Totting Road, London.
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Refugee children's drawings express anger, frustration

[TamilNet, Friday, 01 October 2004, 17:37 GMT]
“It is sad that there are some parts of our country where children can only dream of a normal life”, said Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, chairperson of the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission speaking at an art exhibition by refugee children to mark ‘World Children Day’ in Colombo Friday. Drawings by children from 307 refugee camps, mostly from the northeast, were on exhibit. Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister, Mr. Mahinda Rajapksha, also spoke at the exhibition, titled 'Can a Colour Pencil Talk?' Friday afternoon.


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TNA MPs meet U.S Ambassador

[TamilNet, Friday, 01 October 2004, 00:45 GMT]
''Statements by International Community including the United States of America consistently attempt to blame the Liberation Tigers for the stalled peace talks. These statements fail to highlight the fact that internal dissentions and resulting inconsistent policies of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance government are really the root causes for talks not moving forward,'' Tamil National Alliance Foreign affairs committee (TNA) members told U.S Ambassador Jeffery Lunstead when they met the Ambassador Thursday morning at the U.S Embassey in Colombo.


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Advisory Council, ploy to delay peace talks- Prof.Peiris

[TamilNet, Friday, 01 October 2004, 00:10 GMT]
"United National Party will not participate in the All Political Party Advisory Council proposed by Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunge since we believe that involving a multiparty council would lead to inordinate delays in peace talks. Instead, Ms.Kumaratunge should take a firm stand against JVP's opposition to talks and strive to move peace process forward," said UNP Member of Parliament and former Minister Prof. G.L Peiris in a press conference Thursday at the opposition party office in Colombo.
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Colombo to probe assault on Jaffna HRC officials

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 September 2004, 02:47 GMT]
Mr.Ruwan Chandrasekara, Jaffna regional co-ordinator of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL), was summoned to Colombo Wednesday amid reports that Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the HRCSL high command are to hold high level discussion regarding the assault on Mr.Chandrasekara and his colleagues at the Jaffna police station Monday by several policemen, sources said.


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JHU launches signature campaign to oust Norway

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 September 2004, 10:31 GMT]
Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), the party of ultra Sinhala nationalist Buddhist monks, launched a signature campaign Tuesday in Kandy vowing to collect five million signatures against the Norwegian facilitation in the Peace Process. Venerable Omalpe Sobhitha Thera, the Deputy Leader of the JHU, addressing a meeting at the Central Market in Kandy, vowed that he personally would be campaigning for three days in Colombo, Kandy, Gampaha, Galle, Matara and Polannaruwa districts, sources said.
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"Thennamaravadi IDP's lands being encroached"- Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 September 2004, 16:29 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Mr.R.Sampanthan complained in a letter to the Sri Lanka Goverment's Peace Secretariat officials that they should take immediate steps to stop the encroachment of paddy lands belonging to displaced Tamil families located in Thennamaravadi village in Trincomalee district, sources said.


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