LTTE’s political advisor heads to London

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 May 2004, 07:18 GMT]
Mr. Anton Balasingham, political advisor to the Liberation Tigers, left Kilinochchi Friday morning after concluding extensive consultations with Mr. Velupillai Pirapaharan and senior officials of the LTTE regarding the resumption and continuation of peace talks with the Government of Sri Lanka. He will leave for London Friday evening, LTTE officials in Kilinochchi said.


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U.S. embassy holds workshop for Sri Lankan journalists

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 May 2004, 18:15 GMT]
The US Embassy in Colombo has been conducting a series of workshops to enhance the knowledge of local journalists in Sri Lanka. Four workshops were held in Galle, Trincomalee, Kandy and Colombo on May 6,10,12 and 13th May respectively. The fifth workshop is to be held in Jaffna on May 18 and the final will be held again in Colombo on May 20th, embassy sources said.
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UNP will not support UPFA sham peace effort -Peiris

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 May 2004, 15:25 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) Thursday announced that it would not support the sham peace efforts of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government ." UPFA leaders make contradicting statements on their peace efforts. It clearly shows that they are insincere in their peace moves. Hence the UNP will not support the sham peace efforts of the UPFA government," said UNP senior leader and a former minister in the then UNF government Professor G.L.Peiris at a press briefing held Thursday in Colombo.
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US diplomat Rocca arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 May 2004, 12:36 GMT]
Ms Christina Rocca, US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs arrived in Colombo Thursday around 4.30 p.m. on a four day visit to hold talks with the President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge and government leaders on issues ranging from the peace process, aid and investments, US embassy sources said.
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Japanese peace envoy Akashi to visit Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 May 2004, 07:58 GMT]
Mr.Yasushi Akashi, special envoy of the Government of Japan is to pay a five-day visit to Sri Lanka commencing from Saturday 15th May to follow up his continued peace mission, said the Japanese Embassy in a press release Thursday.
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‘Talks announcement in a day or two’ – Balasingham

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 May 2004, 06:53 GMT]
Mr. Anton Balasingham, political advisor to the Liberation Tigers, said Thursday that the LTTE and the Government of Sri Lanka have agreed on most of the fundamental issues related to the resumption of peace talks. Speaking to journalists at the conclusion of a two-hour discussion with Mr. Vidar Helgesen, Norway’s deputy foreign minister, Mr. Balasingham said the LTTE and Colombo would reach a decision in “a day or two” on the time and place for restarting the peace talks. He said Norway would make an announcement about the consensus reached by the two parties in “one or two days”.
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US diplomat Rocca to visit Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 May 2004, 17:27 GMT]
Ms. Christina Rocca, US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, is scheduled to arrive in Colombo on a four-day visit Thursday. A visit to Trincomalee is also included in her itinerary, sources at the US Embassy in Colombo said Wednesday.
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JVP vows street revolution against UNF

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 May 2004, 15:48 GMT]
The Marxist and Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Wednesday warned that it would launch a street revolution with the backing of masses if the main opposition United National Front (UNF) attempted to defeat the progressive policies of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance government in the parliament.
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SLA, LTTE agree to develop procedures to prevent killings in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 May 2004, 10:30 GMT]
The Sri Lanka army and the Liberation Tigers Tuesday agreed in Batticaloa to “develop mechanisms to ensure information sharing and quick reaction procedures to prevent serious crimes and to ensure proper procedures to apprehend individuals perpetrating serious crimes”. The meeting was arranged amidst killings that threatened to jeopardize the cease-fire agreement between LTTE and Colombo. Col. Thambirajah Ramesh, led the LTTE delegation to the meeting with the SLA at the Vavunathivu divisional secretariat, 5 kilometres, northwest of Batticaloa town.
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Norwegian foreign minister meets Pirapaharan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 May 2004, 07:32 GMT]
Norway’s Foreign Minister Jan Petersen met Mr. Velupillai Pirapaharan, the leader of the Liberation Tigers and his political advisor, Mr. Anton Balasingham in Kilinochchi Tuesday to discuss issues relating to the resumption of peace talks with the Government of Sri Lanka. The Norwegian foreign minister was accompanied by his deputy Mr. Vidar Helgesen and Norway’s ambassador for Sri Lanka, Mr. Hans Brattskar.


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Petersen to meet Pirapaharan in Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 May 2004, 02:47 GMT]
The Norwegian Foreign Minister, Mr.Jan Petersen, and his deputy, Mr. Vidar Helgesen, are scheduled to leave Colombo for Kilinochchi Tuesday morning to meet the LTTE leadership for discussions on issues related to resuming the suspended peace talks, Presidential secretariat sources said.


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CWC MP tipped for Deputy Speaker post

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 May 2004, 17:15 GMT]
Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) parliamentarian, Mr.Muthu Sivalingam, is tipped to be the common candidate for the post of Deputy Speaker of Sri Lanka's Parliament when it meets on May 18, political sources said.
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Norwegian Foreign Minister arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 May 2004, 14:51 GMT]
Norwegian Foreign Minister Mr.Jan Peterson with his deputy Mr. Vidar Helgessen arrived in Colombo Monday afternoon to hold discussions with Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge and the leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to work out modalities to resume the stalled peace talks, political sources said.
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Magazine prison Tamil detainees allege murder plot

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 May 2004, 11:24 GMT]
Tamil political detainees from the high security Magazine prison in Colombo have written a letter to Vanni Parliamentarian, Mr. Sivanathan Kishore, that there are secret plans to murder them and that Tamil parliamentarians should take immediate action to urge the prison authorities to transfer the Tamil detainees to Welikada prison, sources said.


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Anton Balasingham arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 May 2004, 04:07 GMT]
Mr.Anton Balasingham, The Liberation Tigers' theoretician and political strategist, arrived in Colombo Friday morning around 5.30 a.m. and he was received by the Sri Lanka's Norwegian ambassador, Mr. Hans Brattskar, at the Katunayake international airport, Colombo media sources said.
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Sri Lanka parliament to debate Kandapola shooting

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 May 2004, 00:38 GMT]
Sri Lanka Parliament Speaker, Mr.W.J.M.Lokkubandara, Thursday agreed to allocate time for a debate in the parliament on the Kandapola incident last week in which two Tamil youths were killed when the police opened fire on a group of upcountry Tamils, political sources in Colombo said.


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Solheim briefs Wickremasinghe

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 May 2004, 14:13 GMT]
Mr. Erik Solheim, the Norwegian peace envoy, Wednesday met with the Leader of the Opposition in Sri Lanka's parliament, Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, and briefed him on the outcome of the talks he has had with the President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, political leadership of the Liberation Tigers, leaders of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the Tamil National Alliance since he arrived in Colombo Saturday, political sources said.
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Foreign NGOs’ projects in NE do not benefit people – Thooyavan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 May 2004, 03:48 GMT]
“Many foreign NGOs [Non-Governmental Organizations] are claiming in international forums that they are engaged in development work in the North-East, but the reality on the ground is that no development of benefit to the people has been completed,” said Mr. S. K. Thooyavan, the director of the Liberation Tigers’ development secretariat, speaking at a conference at the Jaffna district secretariat Tuesday, according to Uthayan, the Jaffna-based Tamil daily.
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Norwegian peace envoy meets TNA delegation

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 May 2004, 20:05 GMT]
"Peace talks between the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) should be held on the basis of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposal. The UPFA government should not use the opportunity of holding peace talks as a device to strengthen its position in the parliament and to obtain foreign aid," the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) delegation told the visiting Norwegian special peace envoy Mr. Erik Solheim during a discussion held Tuesday evening at the Norwegian embassy in Colombo, TNA sources said.


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RSF fears for safety of Tamil journalist

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 May 2004, 16:18 GMT]
The Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières) in a letter to Sri Lanka's minister of home affairs, Mr. Amarasiri Dodangoda, on Tuesday expressed its fears for the safety of Tamil journalist Mr. Dharmeratnam Sivaram ("Taraki"), whose home in Colombo was searched by Sri Lanka police Monday.
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