TULF central working committee to meet Sunday

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 January 2004, 16:36 GMT]
The central working committee of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), major constituent of the Tamil National Alliance, will meet on 1st February Sunday on a compromise formula arrived at the hearing of the case instituted by its leader Mr.V.Ananandasangaree before Colombo District Judge Tuesday, legal sources said.


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Trinco students excel at national level exam

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 January 2004, 13:08 GMT]
Trincomalee students took the first, second and fourth places at the national level in Tamil medium in the Year-5 scholarship examination conducted by the Sri Lanka's Department of Examination. In addition Trincomalee district secured the first place for the second consecutive year, Commissioner General of Examinations Mr. Mahinda Wijesiri said.
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SLN soldier found dead with gunshot wounds

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 January 2004, 19:02 GMT]
Prashanth Wijewardene from Bandarawela who was manning Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) Ganjadeva Navy Brigade sentry in Karainagar, Jaffna, was found dead with gunshot wounds to his head around 5.45am Monday, local media reports in Jaffna said.
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Sri Lanka Catholics to fast, pray for religious amity

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 January 2004, 15:07 GMT]
The Catholic Church of Sri Lanka has called for a day of fasting and prayer next Sunday, 1 February 2004, and to bring back religious tolerance in the hearts of Sri Lankan people. The Archbishop of Colombo Rt.Rev. Oswald Gomis has appealed to all Catholics in the country to conduct special Holy Hour Prayers with the exposition of Blessed Sacrament.
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Sri Lanka minister urges Britain to lift ban on Tigers

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 January 2004, 13:23 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s minister for Hindu Affairs, Mr. T. Maheswaran Tuesday urged the British government to lift the ban on the Liberation Tigers. The minister gave a memorandum to the British High Commissioner and the Sri Lanka desk officer of the British Foreign Office who met him at his office in Colombo Tuesday. Minister Maheswaran said it is no longer fair or justifiable on the part of the British government to continue its ban on the LTTE.
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‘Donors can assist through local organisations’- Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 January 2004, 10:39 GMT]
“During our visit, we will explain to European governments that the immediate humanitarian needs of our people require urgent attention. We will explain to them that the political impasse in Colombo should not delay this anymore. Therefore donor nations can disburse funds for urgent humanitarian needs through organisations here and through our own mechanisms”, said Mr. S. P Thamilchelvan, the head of the LTTE’s political division, speaking to the press in Kilinochchi before flying to Colombo on Tuesday for a visit to Europe.
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CPA honours talented Trincomalee youths

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 January 2004, 01:27 GMT]
Centre for Performing Arts (CPA) presented awards to talented youths in Trincomalee during its annual cultural event held at Trincomalee Sri Koneswara Hindu College Sunday evening, sources in Trincomalee said. Trincomalee Divisional Secretary Mr. Sundaram Arumainayagam was the chief guest at the event.
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Health workers launch hunger strike

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 January 2004, 17:28 GMT]
A group of forty senior members of the Health Services Trade Union Alliance (HSTUA ) Monday around noon launched a fast unto death campaign opposite to the Health Ministry office in Colombo, demanding the removal of salary anomalies and payment of arrears fully in one installment once a solution is found. Earlier, the HSTUA high command rejected the compromise formula prepared by the Health Ministry on a directive from Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, health ministry sources said.
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SL train services canceled due to strike threat

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 January 2004, 15:05 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Railway Authority Monday cancelled all night passenger and mail train services to and from Colombo to Badulla, Vavuniya, Batticaloa and Trincomalee following the announcement by the United Railway Trade Union Alliance (URTUA) that about fifteen thousand employees would go on an indefinite strike from Monday midnight protesting against convertion of the Railway Department into Railway Authority, government sources said.
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LTTE expresses 'serious concern' over Indo-Lanka defence pact

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 January 2004, 14:31 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has expressed serious concern over the envisaged Indo-Sri Lankan Defence Agreement (DCA) arguing that it could have far-reaching negative consequences for the current peace process, sources told TamilNet Monday.
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JVP-SLFP alliance seriously jeopardizes Peace Process - American Academics

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 January 2004, 17:42 GMT]
North American academics expressed pessimism about the future of the peace process after the JVP-SLFP alliance. Prof.Oberst of Nebraska Weslyan University said, "it has complicated the peace process...LTTE leadership [will be] hesitant to agree to anything until after the next general election." Prof Mia Bloom from McGill University said the alliance "seriously jeopardizes the peace process since it provides legitimization of the SLFP shifting even further to the right."
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"Foreign nations understand LTTE’s central role to Sri Lanka's progress" –TNA MP

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 January 2004, 00:47 GMT]
“Currently, diplomats of foreign countries, ambassadors and representatives of donor nations who visit Sri Lanka and meet those in power in Colombo, are also visiting the Vanni to meet with the Liberation Tigers. This shows a clear understanding by the international community that without the participation of the LTTE, no progress can be made in the country,” said Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, the Tamil National Alliance MP from the Batticaloa district, speaking at the opening of the maternity home in Mandur Saturday.
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UNICEF underage list under review - LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 January 2004, 20:12 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), responding to a report released by UNICEF which expressed concern in the use of "children as soldiers," said that only about 10% of the individuals listed by the UNICEF as below 18 years have birth certificates and that a 3-person committee is reviewing UNICEF's list, taking steps to ascertain the ages of the rest of the individuals.


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Sinhala leaders lack capacity to understand national crisis - Uyangoda

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 January 2004, 03:11 GMT]
"[The SLFP-JVP alliance] raises some disturbing questions about the incapacity of the old as well as the emerging political leadership in the Sinhala society to even simply understand what the Sri Lanka's present crisis is all about," said Prof.Jeyadeva Uyangoda in an article assessing the impact of the new alliance on the current political dynamics in Colombo in the Friday's edition of Daily mirror.


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British Embassy officials meet Pararajasingham

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 January 2004, 20:06 GMT]
Deputy Secretary for Political Affairs at the British Embassy in Colombo, Ms.Margaret Tongue, and Official in-charge of SouthAsian affairs, Ms.Catherine Ceeve, met Batticaloa Parliamentarian Joseph Pararajasingham Thursday evening and had discussions on the current political situation in Colombo, sources said.


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NorthEast to get 1000 more Tamil medium teachers

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 January 2004, 18:59 GMT]
The Ministry of Human Resources Development, Education and Cultural Affairs has decided to recruit another batch of one thousand Tamil medium teachers from advanced leveled qualified persons to fill the vacancies exist in the northeast Tamil medium schools, Provincial Education Ministry Secretary Mr.R.Thiagalingam said Friday.


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Anura Bandaranaike denies secrecy in SLFP-JVP pact

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 January 2004, 12:15 GMT]
Peoples Alliance parliamentarian Mr.Anura Bandaranaike in a statement issued Friday denied any secrecy in the agreement signed by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the Sinhala Nationalist Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) in forming the United Peoples Freedom Alliance ( UPFA ).


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Moragoda to Delhi for more talks on defence pact

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 January 2004, 09:57 GMT]
Mr.Milinda Morogoda, a senior minister in the United National Front (UNF) government, is due to leave for India Friday to hold further talks with Indian Foreign Minister Mr.Yaswanth Sinha and Defense Minister Mr.Geroge Fernandez on the proposed defense agreement between the two governments.
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Amarasinghe to address UPFA's first national convention

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 January 2004, 01:01 GMT]
Exiled leader of the Sinhala nationalist Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Mr.Somawanse Amarasinghe who returned to Sri Lanka on Tuesday, will appear in public on January 29 to address the first national convention of the newly formed United People Freedom Alliance (UPFA) in Colombo, party sources said.


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Bhikku Front demands anti-Buddhist NGOs banned

[TamilNet, Thursday, 22 January 2004, 15:46 GMT]
The National Bhikku Front (NBF) Thursday afternoon held a demonstration to protest against the functioning of several non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which the NBF claimed as endangering the Buddhist religion and sovereignty of Sri Lanka. In a memorandum submitted to Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge, the NBF urged her to take immediate steps to ban such organizations to safeguard Buddhism, sources said.


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