Muslim MPs endorse merger of North and East

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 August 2003, 15:44 GMT]
The North East Muslim Parliamentarians' Alliance (NEMPA) Wednesday said that the problems of Muslims could be solved only within the merged northeast province. "We cannot find solutions to the problems of our community by dividing the merged northeast province," said M.L.A.M.Hisbullah, General Secretary of the NEMPA, in an interview to a private television in Colombo, sources said.
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'Final decision on LTTE camp issue after meeting SLMM' - Solheim

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 August 2003, 14:57 GMT]
A final decision on the Kurankupanchan camp of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam will be taken after Mr. Erik Solheim, the Norwegian special peace envoy, meets with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, according to Mr. Solheim, who addressed media persons after about three hours of talks with the political head of the LTTE, Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, Wednesday at the LTTE’s political secretariat in Kilinochchi, Vanni sources said.
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JVP demonstrates against IA for northeast

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 August 2003, 18:27 GMT]
The Marxist cum Sinhala Nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Tuesday held a demonstration and rally in Colombo against handing over the northeast interim administration to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and what the JVP said were attempts by the United National Front government to bring foreign forces into the country, sources said.
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Norwegian peace envoy Solheim arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 August 2003, 13:10 GMT]
Norwegian special peace envoy, Mr. Erik Solheim, arrived in Colombo Tuesday early morning on a three day visit to hold vital discussions with the leaders of the United National Front government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) intended to sort out differences between the two parties in taking forward the peace process stalled since April this year, political sources said.
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JVP to hold demonstration against IA in Colombo

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 August 2003, 17:30 GMT]
The Marxist cum Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, the third largest party in Sri Lanka’s parliament, Monday announced that it would hold a large demonstration and rally in Colombo Tuesday afternoon against the establishment of an Interim Administrative Structure for the northeast province and to “defeat the attempt by the United National Front government to bring foreign forces into the country in the name of peacekeeping forces.”
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SL Minister cancels conference in Jaffna to evade protests

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 August 2003, 01:42 GMT]
Mr.John Amaratunge, Interior and Christian Affairs Minister of Sri Lanka, who was visiting Jaffna Sunday, cancelled his conference scheduled to be held in the afternoon at the Jaffna district secretariat at the last minute, on a report by the Police that about one hundred representatives of the Jaffna Missing Persons Guardians' Association and the Valigamam North Displaced Persons Association had gathered at the district secretariat premises to stage a protest against his visit, Police sources said
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Journalist Sivagurunathan's funeral held in Colombo

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 August 2003, 19:51 GMT]
The funeral of the veteran Tamil journalist, Mr. Ratnathurai Sivagurunathan, took place Sunday evening at the Hindu section of the Kanatte cemetery in Colombo, attended by a large gathering, sources said.
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‘Colombo cannot disregard our proposal’ – Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 August 2003, 17:50 GMT]
“We would be ready to resume negotiations if the Sinhala nation accepts our proposal for the interim administration and follows the path of peace. The Sri Lankan government cannot disregard our proposal. If it does, then (Colombo) should let the Tamils go their way to determine their own destiny. This is the reality," said Mr. S.P Thamilchelvan, the head of the Liberation Tigers’ political division, addressing more than 3000 delegates from Jaffna taking part in a conference for the National Awakening Movement in Pallai, a town in the peninsula’s southern sector, Sunday.
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SLA to recruit 4000 soldiers

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 August 2003, 10:16 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) is to launch a massive recruitment drive to recruit about 4000 soldiers and interviews will commence on 18 August in several locations islandwide, the state controlled Sunday Observer newspaper reported quoting Brigadier Jammika Liyanage, Director, Personnel Administration, of the SLA.
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Jaffna medical graduates’ reluctance to serve in NE lamented

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 August 2003, 01:50 GMT]
“As the medical graduates of Jaffna University are reluctant to serve in the North East,” the North East Health Services has been forced to “beg doctors from other districts to serve in the North East,” lamented the director of the NEHS, Dr. Kumaravetpillai.
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De-miner injured in car accident

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 August 2003, 21:12 GMT]
A member of the International Mine Action group involved in de-mining in the LTTE-controlled Vanni region was injured when his car met with an accident on the Paranthan-Mullaitivu road Thursday morning and admitted to the Vavuniya hospital, from where he was airlifted to Colombo, sources in Vavuniya said.
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‘Tamil question is not a minority issue' – Prof. Uyangoda

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 August 2003, 19:09 GMT]
“The challenge for the future is to reform the Sri Lankan state without generating violence in Sinhala society. And that is a tremendous challenge for any ruling elite in Colombo,” said Prof. Jayadeva Uyangoda, the well regarded political commentator in the Sinhala and English media in Sri Lanka, in a wide ranging interview with TamilNet this week. He emphasised the need for developing means for greater dialogue and engagement between the Tamils and Singhalese to resolve the conflict.
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Veteran Tamil newspaper Editor Sivagurunathan passes away

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 August 2003, 13:40 GMT]
Mr.R. Sivagurunathan, a veteran Tamil journalist who held the post of Chief Editor of the Tamil daily THINAKARAN for about thirty three years, passed away peacefully early morning Saturday after a brief illness in Colombo at the age of seventy-two, media sources said.
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SL President says ‘dangerous’ period ahead

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 August 2003, 18:41 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s President, Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge, addressing a workshop of members of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party women organizations Friday, said that the country was facing the most dangerous period in its history as the United National Front government was preparing to “hand over the power to rule a part of the country to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, in the name of taking forward the present peace process."
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Ex Vice-Chancellor of Eastern University dies

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 August 2003, 15:28 GMT]
The former Vice Chancellor of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka, Prof. K.D. Arulpragasam, died in Colombo Thursday of natural causes, and the Eastern University community is mourning the death, sources in Batticaloa said.
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Jaffna fishermen capture Indian poachers

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 August 2003, 14:45 GMT]
A Group of Vadamarachi fishermen in the Jaffna district Wednesday around midnight took into their custody ten Indian fishermen with their trawlers when they were engaged in poaching in northern waters. The Indian fishermen and their trawlers were brought down to the Vadamarachchi shore and later handed over to the Point Pedro police through the village level officer (Grama Sevaka) of the area, Police sources said.
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Jaffna HC orders further remand for Indian boatmen

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 August 2003, 14:20 GMT]
The Jaffna High Court Wednesday ordered further remand for the four Indian boatmen who have been charged with poaching in the Sri Lankan terroritorial waters in the northern sea, legal sources said.
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Bhikku Front launches campaign against IA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 August 2003, 17:12 GMT]
The National Bhikku Front (NBF) of Sri Lanka Tuesday commenced a propaganda campaign opposing the establishment of an Interim Administration (IA) for the northeast province by the United National Front government, and the general secretary of the NBF, Ven. Chandaloka Thera, said that the campaign will be held in Colombo and 50 other cities in the south through nearly 1500 Buddhist Vihares in the island.
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‘Tamils should create their own musical tradition’

[TamilNet, Monday, 04 August 2003, 04:38 GMT]
“As a people with a history of having refined folk arts and literature, the Tamils should create a musical tradition uniquely theirs, and great musicians and intellectuals should help to create such a tradition," said “Thamilmani Mullaimani” Mr. V. Subramaniam, speaking at a two-day regional literary festival organized by the Vavuniya Cultural Federation Saturday.
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Deputy Foreign Minister of Japan visits Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 03 August 2003, 14:51 GMT]
The Japanese Senior Vice Foreign Minister, Mr.Tetsura Yano, visited Jaffna Sunday morning and inspected the conditions of a refugee camp at Inuvil where hundreds of internally displaced people from Valigamam north, deprived of their homes by the Sri Lanka Army’s High Security Zones, are staying, sources said.
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