Special envoy Solheim to meet Thamilchelvan Wednesday

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 June 2004, 15:07 GMT]
Norwegian special envoy Mr. Erik Solheim is to visit Killinochchi Wednesday to hold discussions with Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in a bid to break the deadlock in resuming the stalled peace talks between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, embassy statement said.
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Tamil journalists condemn slander

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 June 2004, 14:59 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Tamil Media Alliance (SLTMA) and the East Lanka Journalists’ Association (ELJA) Tuesday condemned what they described as “attempts in a section of the Colombo to discredit independent Tamil journalists”. Referring to a report in the Tuesday edition of ‘The Island’, an English language daily published from Colombo, a spokesman for the ELJA said, “the paper refers to us as ‘supporters of LTTE leader Pirapaharan’. This is a dangerously mischievous report aimed at discrediting us and thereby justify the intimidation and murder of eastern journalists”.
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Monks urge Sinhala unity over Karuna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 June 2004, 11:19 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s hardline monks’ party, Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), has called on the Sri Lankan government and opposition to work together in supporting the renegade LTTE commander, Karuna, “in the interests of national security.”
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SLA role in renegade affair said scuttling peace effort

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 June 2004, 18:24 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers will take up the question of the Sri Lanka army backing renegade commander ‘Karuna’ with the Norwegian facilitators when they meet them next, LTTE sources in Kilinochchi said Saturday. “The Sri Lankan government should come clean on this matter if it wants to preserve the bona fide on which the peace talks are based," they said.
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Singapore PM arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 June 2004, 14:49 GMT]
Goh Chok Tong, Singapore's prime minister who is due to hand over power to his deputy, Lee Hsien Loong, in July, arrived in Sri Lanka Friday afternoon for a three day visit as the final leg of a South Asian tour, after visiting Pakistan and Bangaladesh, sources in Colombo said.
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Major fire at Sri Lanka govt. press

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 June 2004, 13:27 GMT]
A major fire broke out at the Sri Lanka Government Printers in Colombo Saturday evening. Fire fighters were struggling to put out the fire and bring the situation under control, Police said. "We are not sure whether it is sabotage or an accident," a Police source in Colombo said.
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Batticaloa turns nightmare for local journalists

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 June 2004, 10:28 GMT]
A journalist in Batticaloa went into hiding Friday, fearing for his life after persons suspected to be members of a paramilitary group working with the Sri Lankan military intelligence threatened him with death, family members told TamilNet. The journalist, Mr. Thanthiyan Vedanayagam, was working as the Batticaloa correspondent for the independent Tamil daily ‘Thinakkural’. Two journalists fled the eastern town earlier this month after they too were threatened with death by persons suspected to be members of a paramilitary group working with the Sri Lankan military intelligence.
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Jaffna students' savings highest in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 June 2004, 13:57 GMT]
In Sri Lanka, school students save most in Jaffna, a senior state bank official in the north said Friday. Mr. S. Ilampirainathan, special executive of People's Bank, northern region , said Jaffna school children have 157.8 million rupees in savings accounts in his bank. Private and state banks in Jaffna say savings are highest in Jaffna despite two decades of war that has left the northern peninsula in tatters.
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SL Government admits SLA complicity in Karuna affair

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 June 2004, 10:39 GMT]
Contradicting Defense Secretary Cyril Herath who denied Monday that Sri Lanka Army (SLA) gave shelter to renegade commander Muralitharan (alias Karuna), Information Minister of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, Mangala Samaraweera, admitted to the press today that the SLA helped Karuna "escape and wage a covert war of attrition against the Tamil Tigers" according to a BBC report from Colombo today.
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UNP said investigating Moulana

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 June 2004, 14:21 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) in a press release Wednesday reiterated its policy of non-interference in the internal matters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The UNP leadership Wednesday clarified its stand amid revelation that one of its national list parliamentarian Mr.Ali Zahir Moulana Seyed helped LTTE renegade commander Karuna safe passage to Colombo from east on April 11 following the outbreak of Karuna revolt, sources said.


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Ali Zahir Moulana resigns MP post over Karuna affair

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 June 2004, 13:01 GMT]
Mr.Ali Zahir Moulana Seyed, National List Parliamentarian of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) Wednesday evening handed over his resignation letter to Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the UNP following the revelation of his connection in the escape of the LTTE renegade commander Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna and his associates from the East to Colombo, party sources said.
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Opposition to urge reconvening parliament before PC elections

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 June 2004, 03:59 GMT]
Leaders of opposition parties are scheduled to meet Wednesday in the parliamentary complex to decide on the next course of action taken in regard to safeguard the parliamentary democracy. The Leader of the Opposition and main opposition United National Party (UNP) Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe is to preside over the meet, political sources in Colombo said.
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Karuna stayed with SLA in Colombo - Nilavini

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 June 2004, 16:42 GMT]
A senior associate of the renegade LTTE commander Mr. Vinayagamoorthy Muraleetharan (Karuna) said Monday that she and other associates of Karuna stayed in a house provided and protected by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in a suburb of Colombo. Ms. Nilavini (Charlie), formerly the commander of the LTTE womens' fighting formations in the Batticaloa-Amparai district who rejoined the tigers on Friday 18 June spoke to the press Monday about the renegade LTTE commander's activities with the SLA since he fled Batticaloa on 11 April.
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Details of Karuna's whereabouts emerge

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 June 2004, 01:15 GMT]
Revelation by four Senior LTTE women commanders who escaped from Colombo and rejoined the LTTE Friday, that Karuna is working with the Sri Lanka Security Forces in Colombo, is likely to raise serious doubts on the bona fides of the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and has introduced a potentially explosive component to prospects for peace, political sources in Colombo said.
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SL propaganda aims to create fear psychosis in East- Ramesh

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 June 2004, 15:02 GMT]
Liberation Tigers Special Commander to Batticaloa-Amparai district, Col.Ramesh denied recent reports in Sri Lanka Government media on fighting in Thoppigala jungles in Batticaloa district, and dismissed the reports as propaganda to create a fear psychosis in the minds of eastern Tamils, during an interview with United Kingdom based Vectone Broadcasting network, Sunday.


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SLN acquires decommissioned US Coast Guard vessel

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 June 2004, 04:25 GMT]
Vice Admiral Sandagiri of Sri Lanka Navy is to leave for United States Tuesday to formally sign papers to transfer US Coast Guard (USCG) cutter named "Courageous," a B-Type Reliance Class 210-Foot Cutter, built at the American Shipyards in Lorain, Ohio, launched on 18 March 1967 and decommissioned on 19 September 2001, media reports in Colombo said.
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"SL President's duplicitous politics threatens peace"- MP

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 June 2004, 03:08 GMT]
Delays in resumption of peace talks due to Sri Lanka President Ms Kumaratunge's continually shifting positions on the peace process, and suspected Sri Lanka Government's complicity in destabilizing the Batticaloa district, portend imminent danger to prevailing peace, said Joseph Pararajasingham, Senior Vice President of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Member of Parliament (MP), talking to TamilNet from Colombo, Sunday morning.
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"LTTE losing confidence in peace process"- UNF

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 June 2004, 02:35 GMT]
"The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) appears to be losing confidence on the peace process because of the contradictory stands taken by President Chandrika Kumaratunge," said the media spokesman of the main opposition, Professor G.L.Peiris, at a press briefing held Friday in Colombo, according to media sources.
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Colombo security tightened

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 June 2004, 16:42 GMT]
State armed forces tightened the security of Colombo city following the discovery of a suicide jacket and a bag of explosives Friday early morning by a foot-patrol party of the Police amid allegations by the main opposition United National Front (UNF) Friday evening that the security of Colombo has been weakened, sources said.
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Pakistan dismisses Indian magazine's report

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 June 2004, 12:31 GMT]
Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strongly dismissed "the allegations that Pakistan's High Commissioner - designate to Sri Lanka poses national security threat to India", said the High Commission of Pakistan in Colombo in a press statement issued on Thursday.
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