Western province Tamil leader meets Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 April 2004, 19:09 GMT]
The leader of the Western Province People’s Front (WPPF), Mr. Mano Ganesan, who has been elected MP in the general elections held on April 2, met with the political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam at the latter’s secretariat in Kilinochchi at 5:00 pm on Tuesday and held discussions on wide ranging issues, including the Southern political situation in the aftermath of the elections and on taking forward the peace process, sources said.
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All TNA MPs attend parliamentary group meeting

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 April 2004, 15:36 GMT]
Dismissing reports carried by the Sri Lankan State-controlled electronic and print media that they had decided to function as a separate group, the 5 Tamil National Alliance MPs from the Batticaloa and Amparai districts participated at the first TNA parliamentary group meeting held Tuesday evening in Colombo along with the 15 TNA MPs elected from other districts of the Northeast, and Mr.Rajavarothiam Sampanthan, the senior TNA leader, was unanimously elected as the leader of the TNA parliamentary group at this meeting, TNA sources said.
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Wickremesinghe says minority government danger to peace process

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 April 2004, 10:57 GMT]
The outgoing Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday told a news conference in Colombo that the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) appears to be trying to form a minority government and such a minority government will be a danger to the continuity of the peace process with the LTTE.


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Commissioner declares no re-vote as candidates claim electoral fraud

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 April 2004, 13:54 GMT]
While there were voting irregularities observed in two districts in the South and speculation was rife that there will be revoting, the defeated V. Ananthasangaree, the controversial Leader of Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), whose Independent group in Jaffna district garnered less than 2% of the votes and the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) which managed to get a single seat, claimed widespread voter fraud by the Liberation Tigers in Jaffna district, media reports said. But the Election Commissioner Sunday decided against a re-vote.


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"TNA solidly stands behind ISGA"-Sampanthan tells UNF

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 April 2004, 11:19 GMT]
"We have been closely watching the current political situation," Tamil National Alliance leader and the re-elected Trincomalee district parliamentarian Mr.R.Sampanthan told Mr.Bradman Weerakoon, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe in a telephonic conversation initiated by the latter Sunday morning, political sources said.
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Observers criticize State media, commend Commissioner, Police

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 April 2004, 17:41 GMT]
While criticising the State media as biased and its absence of balance "during the campaign cast a long shadow over this election process," Hon Margaret Reid, chair of the Commonwealth Observer Group (COG), Saturday issued an interim statement on Sri Lanka General Election 2004 commended the Election Commissioner, his staff and the Police "for their preparations and their performance on the day."
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Jaffna reports high turnout, Erlalai booths close early

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 April 2004, 11:14 GMT]
Civil society sources in Jaffna said that there was high voter turnout in Chunnakam and Mallakam area. However, reports from Erlalai said that the booths at Erlalai Saiva Shanmarga Vidiyalayam were suddenly closed around 3.55pm and the gates were locked preventing further voting. Further details are not known.
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NPC condemns election violence and expulsion of people in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 April 2004, 15:03 GMT]
In a press release Thursday, the National Peace Council has condemned the election-related violence, intimidations and assassinations in the North-East, and the “effort to expel people of Jaffna-origin living in Batticaloa,” saying that “factional rivalries should not be solved at the expense of the people.”
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Central elections office opened at Batti Hindu college

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 31 March 2004, 16:57 GMT]
The central elections office for the Batticaloa district has been opened at the Batticaloa Hindu College, and the transport division for the elections is operating from there, sources in Batticaloa said.
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Businesses close as Jaffna Tamils leave Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 31 March 2004, 11:01 GMT]
Businesses belonging to Tamils from Jaffna remain closed in Batticaloa, Chenkalady, Kaluwanchikudi, Pandiriuppu and Kalmunai areas as the owners left the area on the orders of renegade commander Karuna said sources in Batticaloa.
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"Thanthai” Chelva remembered on 106th birthday

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 31 March 2004, 04:15 GMT]
The 106th birthday of the late Tamil leader and the founder of the Federal Party (Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchchi -ITAK), Mr.S.J.V.Chelvanayakam, falls on Wednesday. Tamils in the country, who still fondly remember Mr. Chelvanayakam as “Thanthai (father) Chelva,” will celebrate the late leader's birthday Wednesday at a time when the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is contesting the forthcoming general elections on the ITAK ticket, with its HOUSE symbol revived after 37 years, political sources said.
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Jaffna University confers degrees on Tamil artistes

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 March 2004, 00:46 GMT]
The Jaffna University created history last weekend by conferring Honorary Doctorates of Philosophy posthumously on two world-renowned artistes, Nathaswaram Vidwan Mr. N.K.Pathmanathan of Alaveddy and Dramatist Nadikamani V. V.Vairamuthu of Kankesanthurai. The Chancellor Professor M.Sivasooriya conferred the titles on them at the twenty-third convocation of the university held Saturday at the Kailasapathy Auditorium.


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Major political parties to hold final election rallies Tuesday

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 March 2004, 21:28 GMT]
The final election rallies of major political parties are to be held Tuesday evening in various parts of the country bringing the one and a half months old bitter election campaign to an end two days before the April 2nd poll, political sources said.
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Sampanthan urges countries to remove ban on LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 March 2004, 17:05 GMT]
"The ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is still in force in some countries. The verdict of the Tamil people in the northeast province in the April 2nd poll should tell these countries that time has come for them to lift the ban on the LTTE as they have been fully backing the LTTE and its Interim Self-Governing Authority proposal," said Mr.R.Sampanthan, leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the lead candidate of the TNA in the Trincomalee district, ddressing a series of election meeting from morning till late in the night on Sunday.
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EU chief observer condemns shooting of politician, GA

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 March 2004, 11:16 GMT]
"It is a direct attack on the democracy," said European Union Election Observation Mission Chief Observer Mr John Cushnahan commenting on the attempted murders of a former minister in Colombo and a top government official in Batticaloa district, during his visit to Trincomalee Monday.


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Grenade attack on media CEO's residence

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 March 2004, 03:45 GMT]
Unidentified assailants hurled a grenade on the residence of Mr. Raynor Silva, chief executive of the Asian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Sunday night in Colombo. The ABC runs five popular FM radio stations in Sinhala, Tamil and English.
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Injured UNP candidate, GA, under intensive treatment

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 March 2004, 02:53 GMT]
The Sri Lanka's former Hindu religious Affairs Minister Mr.Thiagarajah Maheswaran and the Batticaloa District Government Agent and the Returning officer Mr.Mounagurusamy who were injured when unidentified persons shot at them Saturday night in two separate incidents have been undergoing intensive treatment in Colombo. Mr. Maheswaran is in a private hospital and Mr.Mounagurusamy is warded in the Colombo national hospital, medical sources said.


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Rejection of ISGA will lead to separation - Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 March 2004, 16:53 GMT]
"The international community should come forward to recognize Tamils right to consider secession if the future Sinhala government refuses to negotiate on the basis of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposal of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam," said Mr.R.Sampanthan, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader and the lead candidate of the TNA contesting in the Trincomalee district addressing an election rally in Sambaltivu and Salli, Tamil villages in the north of Trincomalee Friday evening.
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Sri Lanka's former Hindu Affairs minister shot

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 March 2004, 14:37 GMT]
Sri Lanka's former Hindu Affairs Minister and ex. MP for Jaffna, Mr. Thiyagarajah Maheswaran was shot and seriously wounded by unidentified gunmen in downtown Colombo Saturday night around 8 p.m. Mr. Maheswaran is contesting elections as a United National Front candidate in the Colombo district.
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Commonwealth monitors meet Elections Commissioner

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 March 2004, 12:02 GMT]
Commonwealth country representatives who arrived in Sri Lanka Thursday to monitor next week's parliamentary elections held discussions with the Commissioner of Elections Dayananda Dissanayake today, political sources in Colombo said.


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