"Aid not tied to talks will be detrimental to peace"- Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 September 2004, 10:11 GMT]
"We are meeting in Geneva to discuss further matters related to our current political situation and to explore ways to take forward the currently stalled peace process," said S.P.Thamilchelvan, Leader of the Political Wing of Liberation Tigers, speaking to reporters as the LTTE delegation was leaving for Geneva, Switzerland, for a tour of European Countries.
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LTTE delegation to leave for Europe

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 September 2004, 01:37 GMT]
A high level delegation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) led by its political head S.P.Thamilchelvan is scheduled to leave on a three-week visit to European countries on Wednesday through Katunayake International Airport (KIA). The delegation is expected hold discussions with legal and constitutional expert who formulated the Interim Self Government Authority proposals (ISGA), sources said. The team will also meet Government officials of several European countries during the tour.
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Fingerprints to appear on Sri Lanka passports

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 September 2004, 13:29 GMT]
Applicants will have to provide finger prints when they apply for passports, Department of Immigration and Emigration of Sri Lanka said in a press release issued in Colombo today.
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UNP rejects council, urges talks on ISGA

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 September 2004, 07:30 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s main opposition this weekend declined to join President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s ruling alliance in a ‘National Advisory Council’ on the Norwegian backed peace process, instead urging the government to resume talks with the Liberation Tigers on the basis of the latter’s interim administration proposals.
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Batticaloa to be declared backward district in education

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 September 2004, 16:13 GMT]
Sri Lanka University Grants Commission (UGC) agreed to a request made by the Batticaloa district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians to declare the Batticaloa district as a backward area in education. The UGC also decided to submit a report to the Sri Lanka Government to get Cabinet approval for the decision, education sources said.
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Northern Muslims support talks based on ISGA

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 September 2004, 11:41 GMT]
"Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge should take immediate steps to commence peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the basis of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals submitted by the LTTE," said Moulavi. M.Subiyan, Secretary of the Association to Protect Rights of Northern Muslims, when TamilNet asked him to comment on the current peace stalemate. M.Subiyan is also the President of Killinochchi District Muslims' Secretariat.
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Under world killings continue in South

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 September 2004, 16:34 GMT]
Two members of a suspected underworld gang were shot dead by Police officers manning the check point in Piwatte near Panadura in Colombo Saturday evening, police sources said. They allegedly hijacked a motorbike in Wadukka, 20km south of Colombo, and had passed through the checkpoint when Police officers gave chase and opened fire.
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TNA MPs meet Swiss Ambassador

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 September 2004, 10:35 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Foreign Affairs Committee which met with Swiss Ambassodor to Sri Lanka, Mr. Bernadino Regazzoni, at the Switzerland Embassy in Colombo Friday expressed their concern on the reluctance shown by the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government to take steps to restart the peace talks, and urged the ambassador to exert pressure on the Government of Sri Lanka to actively seek ways to resume talks.
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UNP holds demonstration in Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 September 2004, 23:27 GMT]
United National Party (UNP) parliamentarians, thousands of party cadres and activists joined a mass demonstration to protest against the worsening economic situation under the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government in front of the Colombo Fort railway station for nearly two hours Friday.
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USAID inaugurates four projects in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 September 2004, 12:59 GMT]
United States donated US$ 138,000 for four projects in the Batticaloa District the Embassy of United States press release said Friday. The US Embassy this week inaugurated the projects “aimed at improving the health and vocational skills of local residents” according to the press release. The projects are funded by US Agency for International Development (USAID).
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EPDP central committee member gunned down in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 September 2004, 09:52 GMT]
A central committe member of the EPDP was shot dead in Colombo Thursday afternoon, Police said. The senior EPDP cadre, Mr.Somasunderam Varunakulasingham, 39, was being driven home in his car around 3 p.m. when unidentified gunmen shot him in Vihara Lane, Wellawatte, a predominantly Tamil suburb of Colombo. EPDP is a key ally of President Kumaratunga and is a paramilitary.
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World Bank launches first e-development project in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 September 2004, 13:59 GMT]
The World Bank Tuesday approved US$53 million credit for its first integrated e-development project, the e-Sri Lanka project.
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UNP says planning first step to topple Kumaratunge govt

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 September 2004, 13:08 GMT]
The United National Party (UNP) will hold a mass demonstration in Colombo on September 24, Friday, to protest against the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government. UNP MPs Mr. Gamini Lokuge and Dr. Rajitha Senaratne told a press conference in Colombo Tuesday, that the protest would be the first step to topple the UPFA Government, which has not fulfilled its promises to the people.
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Mass meditation in Colombo for Peace Day

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 September 2004, 13:03 GMT]
Hundreds of Buddhist monks and other religious leaders participated in a peace meditation to mark Universal Peace Day on the Bandarnaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) grounds in Colombo Tuesday. The meditation was organized by Sarvodaya and other civil society groups.
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Use new understanding to recommence peace talks - NPC

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 September 2004, 11:19 GMT]
Referring to the assurance of support given by the main opposition party UNP, to the Sri Lanka Government if it commences peace talks on the basis of LTTE's ISGA proposals, the National Peace Council in a Press Release issued on Monday, urged the Sri Lanka government to "build upon this implicit understanding with the opposition to take the peace process forward by engaging in peace talks with the LTTE".
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Art competition spotlights suffering of displaced children

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 September 2004, 08:11 GMT]
Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) held an art competition among the displaced children living in welfare centres in the Northeast Province and in Puttalam district to highlight the difficulties war affected children face. The winning drawings will be exhibited in the island level exhibition in Colombo,
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New IGP to assume office

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 September 2004, 02:10 GMT]
Inspector Chandra Fernando will assume duties as the 29th new Inspector General of Police (IGP) before 30 September if his nomination to the IGP post is approved by the Constitutional Council, security sources in Colombo said.
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EPDP blocks Norway embassy with coffin

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 September 2004, 13:29 GMT]
A large group of EPDP cadres blocked the main entrance of the Norwegian embassy in Colombo Monday for more than two hours with the coffin of one of their colleagues who was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Puttalam two days ago. The EPDP protested in front of the Norwegian mission from against the killing of its cadres, urging Oslo to take concrete action to stop the assasinations. EPDP cadres burnt the effigies of LTTE leaders, accusing them for the killings. EPDP is a key paramilitary in Sri Lanka. It is also a close ally of President Kumaratunga.
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Canadian Ambassador meets Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 September 2004, 10:43 GMT]
Ambassador of Canada in Colombo, Valerie Raymond met with Head of the LTTE Political Wing, S.P.Thamilchelvan in the LTTE Peace Secretariat building in Kilinochchi Monday, sources from Vanni said. The discussions centered on the peace process and the urgency of both parties, the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to show flexibility to resume the stalled peace talks.
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Popular radio network says plot to jam news

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 September 2004, 05:57 GMT]
The management of Asian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), the parent company of five popular radio stations in Sri Lanka Monday expressed concern over reports in local print and electronic media about an alleged request by the Ministry of Internal Security to jam news broadcasts on all the radio channels of the network. President Kumaratunga cancelled ABC's TV license soon after she seized key ministries from the United National Front government in November 2003. In August this year Sri Lanka army seized equipment ABC sent to Jaffna for upgrading its broadcast in the north.
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