Kilinochchi pays tribute to Pararajasingham

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 December 2005, 12:43 GMT]
"It is the occupying Sri Lankan forces that have unleashed violence on the Tamil people. Destructive effects of such crimes will likely boomerang on the Sinhala armed forces. The Sri Lankan Government is solely responsible for controlling its armed forces to bring back normalcy," said the Liberation Tigers' Political Head, Mr.S. P. Thamilchelvan, addressing the mourners who gathered to pay tribute to the slain TNA MP, Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, at the Kilinochchi Cultural Hall Wedesday morning.
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Solheim calls for urgent talks

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 December 2005, 11:25 GMT]
Norwegian Development Minister Mr. Erik Solheim on Tuesday expressed concern at the recent acts of violence including shooting of civilians near Jaffna University, attacks on Sri Lankan Military personnel and civilians, Claymore attacks, violence against Muslims and the assassination of parliamentarian Joseph Pararajasingham during Mass on Christmas Eve, and urged the two parties to meet urgently to strengthen the CeaseFire Agreement. Attending a one-year Tsunami remembrance event in Oslo on Monday, Erik Solheim has gone on record saying that "Norway was even prepared to take the parties to the moon" if that was the only venue left for talks.
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Military uniforms discovered in Batticaloa church

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 December 2005, 00:55 GMT]
Two pairs of military fatigue jackets and trousers, two pairs of shoes and a bag were recovered Tuesday morning around 11:00 a.m. from a rest-room attached to St. Anthony's church located close to the St. Mary's church where the Tamil National Alliance MP Joseph Pararajasingham was murdered on Sunday.
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Pirapaharan pays tribute to slain TNA MP

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 December 2005, 22:43 GMT]
The leader of the Liberation Tigers, Mr. V. Pirapaharan, on Tuesday, paid tribute to the slain senior Tamil politician Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham in the Vanni. The body of the Tamil National Alliance paraliamentarian, who was shot inside Batticaloa St. Mary's Co-Catherdal during Christmas mass on Sunday, was taken to LTTE controlled Kokkadicholai on Monday and to Kilinochchi on Tuesday. The funeral service of the MP is to take place in the church where he was slain Thursday after receiving Holy Communion from Bishop Kingsley Swampillai.
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Trincomalee observes hartal in protest against Pararajasingham's killing

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 December 2005, 13:01 GMT]
Trincomalee Tamil speaking people Tuesday observed a general shut down in response to the call by the Trincomalee district Tamil Resurgence Committee condemning the assassination of Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham and killings of Tamil civilians in their homeland, and demanding the withdrawal of government armed forces deployed in Trincomalee violating the Ceasefire Agreement, sources said.
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US Tamils call for sanctions against SL Government

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 December 2005, 11:24 GMT]
Expressing anger and sadness at the killing of Senior Parliamentarian Joseph Pararajasingham, US based Tamil Organizations, in a press release issued Monday, pointed out that "Tamils killings are never investigated...and armed forces in Sri Lanka operate with complete impunity," and urged the international community to "show political and moral courage and impose sanctions on the government of Sri Lanka in order to put an immediate end of this deliberated and calculated violence."
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Colombo's bona fides for peace, suspect- TNA

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 December 2005, 17:11 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in a press release issued Monday said the assassination of Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham raises serious doubts in regard to the genuineness of the Government's commitment to the honest and purposeful pursuit of the peace process. "We consider it our duty to point out that the assassination of Mr. Pararajasingham, a Tamil leader unequivocally committed to the resolution of the Tamil question by peaceful means is a serious blow to the credibility of the peace process," the statement said.


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"How will International Community respond?"

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 December 2005, 13:27 GMT]
"A critical question looming large in Tamil Peoples' mind is how the International Community is going to express its reaction to the Government of Sri Lanka on the slaying of the senior Tamil democratic leader, Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham," Jaffna daily Uthayan said in its editorial Monday. The paper described the slaying of Joseph Pararajasigham as an attempt to "throttle the voice of Tamil Nationalism."
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Rajapakse, SL Military Intelligence responsible for MPs murder - IFT

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 December 2005, 16:39 GMT]
The Geneva based International Federation of Tamils (IFT), a consortium of more than 150 expatriate Tamil organizations, on Sunday urged the International Community, to condemn without delay, the brutal murder of the Tamil Parliamentarian and human rights activist Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham during the midnight Christmas cathedral service. The Federation urged the International Community to hold Sri Lanka government and President Mahinda Rajapakse responsible for the murder. IFT said Joseph Pararajasingham was a pragmatist, advocating for over a decade, even before the signing of the CFA, a direct dialogue between the government and the LTTE.
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LTTE confers "Maamanithar" title to Pararajasingham

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 December 2005, 15:17 GMT]
Leader of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Velupillai Pirapaharan, bestowed the title Maamanithar (Great Humanbeing) on the slain Senior Parliamentarian Joseph Pararajasingham Sunday. "Steadfast and honest, he is an excellent political leader. The Tamil people affectionately hailed him as a formidable fighter for human rights. His extra-ordinary attachment to the Tamil cause gravitated all towards him. The demise of Mr.Joseph Pararajasingham is an irreparable loss to the Tamil Nation," Pirapaharan said in the statement conferring the award.
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NESOHR mourns killing of Pararajasingham

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 December 2005, 14:59 GMT]
Praising Joseph Pararajasingham as a human rights activist ready to take up human rights violations against his community in Batticoloa disregarding risks to his life, the Northeast Secretariat on Human Rights (NESOHR) in a press release issued Sunday said, " A land where human rights defenders’ life can be taken away so cheaply is a damned land. It is also a damning indictment on those who are charged with the responsibility of protecting them."
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Tigers condemn the killing of Pararajasingham

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 December 2005, 08:37 GMT]
Condemning the "appalling and vicious murder" of the Tamil National Alliance MP Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, the Political Wing of the Liberation Tigers, on Sunday, charged the Sri Lankan military intelligence and the paramilitaries working with them for the killing of Mr. Pararajasingham, a Tamil nationalist and human rights activist. The Tigers also said the killing at the Christmas mass symbolised the "long hand of the chauvinistic forces such as the Jathika Hela Urumaya," was working through the Sri Lankan military intelligence wing.
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Pararajasingham slaying, a barbaric act - fellow Batticaloa MP

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 December 2005, 01:19 GMT]
"The slaying of the senior and experienced politician from Batticaloa, Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, while at prayer inside the church on the holy day of Christmas, was a barbaric act affecting the collective Tamil psyche," said the fellow Batticaloa District Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Member of Parliament Mr. S. Jeyananthamoorthy, who was on a political tour to Europe. The Batticaloa MP said that the time has come for the International Community, specially the EU and the Co-Chairs, to prevail upon the Sri Lankan Government to fully comply with the Ceasefire Agreement.
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Joseph Pararajasingham MP shot dead in Batticaloa church

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 December 2005, 19:56 GMT]
Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, a senior Tamil politician and the Batticaloa district Member of Parliament (MP) of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) was shot and killed by two unidentified gunmen at St. Mary's co-cathedral church in Batticaloa town while attending Christmas prayers early morning at 1.20 a.m Sunday. The MP's wife, Mrs. Sugunam Pararajasingham, seriously wounded in the gunfire, was rushed to Batticaloa Hospital in critical condition. Seven more persons were injured in the gunfire, civilian sources said.
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Indian High Commissioner meets TNA delegation

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 December 2005, 16:51 GMT]
A delegation of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Friday met with the Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Ms Nirupama Rao and discussed at length the current situation, concerns on potential breakdown of CeaseFire Agreement (CFA), and the urgent need to restart the peace process. The TNA delegation impressed upon the High Commissioner the need for peace talks to commence without further delay, Mr.R.Sampanthan, TNA parliamentary group leader said in a press release Friday.
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Maintaining symmetry of power, key to meaningful peace talks- Adaikalanathan

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 December 2005, 20:34 GMT]
“Instead of choosing a constructive political path setting incremental milestones to monitor progress in addressing the national crisis, various Sri Lanka governments in power, were preoccupied with an "oppressive mindset" and have attempted to weaken the Tamil struggle by purposely dragging out peace processes,” said TNA parliamentarian Selvam Adaikalanathan, speaking to TamilNet Friday. He said that a meaningful peace process is possible only if the prevailing strategic symmetry of power is maintained between the two parties.
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TNA headquarters opened in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 October 2005, 17:16 GMT]
The headquarters of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) was declared open Friday evening in Trincomalee town on the eve of the Trincomalee National Tamil Resurgence Convention to be held on Saturday morning. Mr.Mavai Senathirajah, Jaffna district TNA parliamentarian lit the flame of sacrifice. Mr.R.Sampanthan, TNA parliamentary group leader hoisted the Thamileelam national flag and Mr.Jospeh Pararajasingham, TNA National List parliamentarian unveiled the name board of the headquarters.


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Ian Martin meets Thamilchelvan, Heads of Police, Judiciary

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 October 2005, 00:37 GMT]
Former President of Amnesty International and Human Rights expert, Mr Ian Martin, met with Head of the LTTE Political Wing, S P Thamilchelvan, Head of Tamileelam Judiciary, Mr Pararajasingham and Head of Tamileelam Police, Mr Nadesan, separately in Kilinochchi Thursday to discuss matters related to strengthening human rights structures in the NorthEast, sources in Kilinochchi said.
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Aussie MP, Tamils gather in support of Tamil Resurgence

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 October 2005, 23:16 GMT]
Federal Member of Australian parliament, Ms Julie Owens, Chairman of International Commission of Jurists Justice John Dowd and several hundred Tamils from Sydney and adjoining counties participated in an event held at the Ryde Civic Center in Sydney Sunday in support of the Tamil Resurgence events being held by fellow Tamils in the NorthEast. The event was organized by the Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations (AFTA), an umbrella organization of Tamil groups in the region.
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Emergency extended

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 September 2005, 12:55 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Parliament Wednesday passed a motion extending the State of Emergency for another month by a majority of 94 votes. 118 members voted for the Emergency, and 24 voted against. The twenty members of Tamil National Alliance, two members of the Up-Country People Front (UPF), Mr. Mano Ganesan of Western Province Peoples Front (WPPF) and Mr. T. Maheswaran of United National Party (UNP) voted aginst the Emergency.
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