Flag Day to commemorate Welikada prison massacre victims

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 July 2004, 11:02 GMT]
The Flag Day jointly organized by the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) and Tamil People Forum (TPF) to commemorate the massacre of 53 Tamil political activists in Welikada jail twenty one years ago in July 1983 was inaugurated in Trincomalee town Saturday morning at the office of the TELO presided by a TELO enior activist Mr.Anpumani. Mr. Indrakumar Prasanna, general secretary of the TELO inaugurated the flag week in Batticaloa town.
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Voter turn out low for PC polls

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 July 2004, 08:52 GMT]
Voter turn out for elections to six provincial councils in Sri Lanka on Saturday was the lowest in the island's polls history, officials said. ''Only 45 percent of the voters cast their votes today'', a senior election official in Colombo said. "Disgust with the current political confusion appears to be the cause behind this voter apathy", said a columnist for a Sinhala daily in Colombo. TamilNet confirmed with the election officials the final voter turn out for the elections was 45 percent.
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Two Karuna militants executed

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 July 2004, 12:51 GMT]
Two militants belonging to the Karuna group were executed by the Liberation Tigers in Illupadichchenai in Batticaloa, local Tamil media said.


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Bubulla Vihare Chief Incumbent injured in grenade attack

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 July 2004, 17:12 GMT]
Venerable Lendigele Sudassi, Chief Incumbent of the Bodhirukkaharamaya Temple in Bubulla in Hingurakgoda where last Tuesday midnight the Hingurakgoda Police arrested fourteen suspected Karuna faction Tamil youths with automatic weapons, was seriously injured in a grenade attack that took place Thursday around 7.30 p.m., police said.
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Tigers deny involvement in suicide attack

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 July 2004, 05:29 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers Thursday denied any involvement in the suicide attack in Colombo on Wednesday in which four Sri Lankan Police were killed. Mr. S. P Thamichelvan, head of the LTTE’s political division told TamilNet Thursday that the Tigers had “absolutely no connection in the suicide bombing in Colombo”.
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"Kollupitya bomb blast won't affect peace process"- SLFP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 July 2004, 17:38 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), a major constituent in the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance government said in a statement issued Wednesday evening that the suicide bomb blast in the Kollupitya police station will not cause any adverse impact on the peace process and the implementation of the ceasefire agreement, political sources said.


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Woman suicide bomber explodes in Colombo killing 4 police officers

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 July 2004, 09:13 GMT]
A woman suicide bomber who was allegedly on a mission to assassinate Minister Mr. Douglas Devananda exploded herself killing four police officers when she was to be subjected to a body check in the Kollupitya Police station Wednesday morning around 11 a.m., police said. The Kollupitya Police Station is located in the heart of the Colombo city next to the Prime Minister's residence "Temple Trees," sources said.
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Suspected Karuna cadres released on bail

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 July 2004, 14:27 GMT]
The Hingurakgoda magistrate Tuesday released fourteen Tamil youth who were arrested with assault rifles and bombs by Sri Lanka Police in a village Buddhist temple in Hingurakgoda Monday evening. They were enlarged on personal surety bail, Police said. Possession of illegal weapons is a unbailable offense under Sri Lankan law.
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District Ayurveda Hospital opened in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 July 2004, 03:31 GMT]
Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), speaking after the ceremonial opening Monday of the Trincomalee District Ayurveda Hospital said that he was pleased that the opening was held on Black Tigers Day which he said was an important day for the liberation struggle of Tamil people. The Ayurveda Hospital is located at Kappalthurai, a resettled Tamil village along the Trincomalee-Colombo highway, about eight km off the east port town.
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Norway to discuss Sri Lanka with India

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 July 2004, 00:02 GMT]
Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen is on a three-day visit to New Delhi, to discuss the deteriorating situation in Sri Lanka with Indian leaders, IANS quoted diplomatic sources as saying Monday.
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Armed Tamil youth arrested in Buddhist temple

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 July 2004, 18:36 GMT]
Hingurakgoda Police said Tuesday morning that the arrested youth had in their possession three T- 56, three T - 84 type assault rifles and a T - 81 special assault rifle. They also had six hand grenades. A van and a car in which they had traveled were also seized from the Bubula temple, Police said.
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Upcountry leaders readying to prop failing govt says editor

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 July 2004, 13:21 GMT]
"Upcountry Tamil parties are preparing to make opportunistic deals to prop up this government as soon as the provincial polls are over this month. What do the people of upcountry gain by their politicians joining each government that comes to power? Nothing", said Mr. Vadivel Devaraj, editor of the Sunday edition of the Tamil daily Virakesari, speaking at a book launch in Colombo Sunday.
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Kumaratunga ally rejects LTTE proposal for restarting talks

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 July 2004, 13:35 GMT]
A senior leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, the main coalition partner of President Chandrika Kumaratunga's minority government Saturday declared that his party would not allow Colombo to restart Sri Lanka's long stalled peace talks on the basis of interim proposals submitted by the Liberation Tigers.
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Supreme Court takes up TULF interim injunction case

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 July 2004, 16:51 GMT]
The three member bench of the Supreme Court chaired by Chief Justice Sarath N.Silva fixed the inquiry for August 25 into the appeal filed by the Secretary General and Senior Vice President of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) Messrs R.Sampanthan and Jospeh Pararajasingham against the interim order issued by the Colombo District Court and later affirmed by the Court of Appeal preventing them from summoning the central committee of the TULF without the consent of the President Mr. V.Anandasangaree, legal sources said.
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SL Navy boards, searches fishing vessel

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 June 2004, 19:28 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Navy boarded and searched a fishing vessel off the LTTE controlled coast in southeastern Jaffna in the early hours of the morning Wednesday, fishermen in Sembianpattu said.
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The cease-fire’s weakest link: Tamil paramilitaries

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 June 2004, 17:50 GMT]
When Norwegian Special Envoy Erik Solheim flew into Sri Lanka this week, he was well aware that the problems that have bedeviled his government’s peace process thus far have now been eclipsed by new and far more severe one: a weak link in the formal ceasefire between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers has finally snapped.
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Business Development Centre opened in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 June 2004, 17:27 GMT]
The office of the Business Development Centre (BDC) for eastern region was declared open in Trincomalee Tuesday. The BDC Network supports capacity building for the business development services market serving the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector in Sri Lanka. Trincomalee district Government Agent Mr. Gamini Rodrigo, Business Services Support Facility (BSSF) Executive Director Mr. Mark Van Steenwyk and Mr.Shakila Wijewardene, Managing Director of the Sarvodhaya Economic Enterprise Development Services (GTE) Ltd (SEEDS) jointly declared open the BDC office.
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Thamilchelvan conveys LTTE’s stand on CFA, talks to Solheim

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 June 2004, 08:37 GMT]
“If the Sri Lankan President and government are serious about the cease-fire agreement and peace talks they should stop sheltering Karuna and backing the murder and mayhem in which some of his henchmen are indulging Batticaloa. This is what we told the Norwegian facilitators today”, said Mr. S. P Thamilchelvan, head of the LTTE’s political division, speaking to the press after meeting Norway’s special peace envoy Mr. Erik Solheim Wednesday in Kilinochchi.
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Sri Lanka FCA holds exhibition of war and peace photos

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 June 2004, 06:35 GMT]
The Foreign Correspondents’ Association (FCA) of Sri Lanka will hold an exhibition of photographs by five photojournalists starting Wednesday at the Barefoot Gallery in Colombo. “The photos are of war and peace in the island, taken over the many years of conflict as well as in the past two-and-a-half years since the Tigers and Colombo signed a cease-fire”, the FCA said. The five photojournalists are members of the FCA.
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Solheim to meet President Kumaratunge

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 June 2004, 05:32 GMT]
Norwegian special envoy Mr.Erik Solheim is scheduled to meet Sri Lanka President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge on his return from Killinochchi Wednesday evening after holding discussions with the LTTE political leadership in the morning, Presidential secretariat sources said.
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