"Colombo should stop elements inciting violence"- Thamilchelvan tells Brattskar

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 December 2004, 14:19 GMT]
"Incidents of violence in Trincomalee and elsewhere are the result of provocative actions of disruptive elements should be controlled by the government since they tend to create tension leading to public rioting" S.P. Thamilchelvan, Head of Liberation Tigers Political Wing told the Norwegian Ambassador Mr. Hans Brattskar in a meeting held at the LTTE Peace Secretariat in Kilinochchi. Thursday, sources from Vanni said.
Full story >>

TNA appeals to India not to harm peace efforts

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 December 2004, 14:33 GMT]
''The prime need in Sri Lanka, today, is the peaceful resolution of the Tamil question. The Tamil people are confident that India will not act in a manner harmful to Tamil interests. The Tamil people appeal to Indian government that the conclusion of the Indo-Sri Lanka defence co-operation agreement, and the commencement of development activities in the North-East with the military dimension be not proceeded with, '' said a press release issued by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Wednesday.
Full story >>

TNA MP demands return of occupied houses in Vankalai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 November 2004, 12:14 GMT]
Mr.Selvam Adaikalanathan, Vanni district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, Sunday wrote to the acting Defence Minister Mr.Ratnasiri Wickremanayake to take immediate steps to hand over houses in Vankalai in Mannar district now being occupied by the Sri Lanka Police to the displaced owners who have returned to their village for resettlement since the signing of the ceasefire agreement.
Full story >>

TNA faults SLA for violence in Tamil districts

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 November 2004, 15:53 GMT]
"Unwarranted interference by the armed forces in the lives of the Tamil civilian population in the North-East must be brought to an end," said Mr.R.Sampanthan, leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary group in a statement of national public importance tabled in Parliament Saturday in regard to several violent incidents that had taken place in the districts of Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya and in Trincomalee during Heroes Day week.
Full story >>

Tamil Tigers will launch freedom struggle if peace talks are further delayed - LTTE leader

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 November 2004, 12:39 GMT]
The leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Mr Velupillai Pirapaharan, in his annual statement marking Heroes’ Day, cautioned the Sri Lanka government that his organisation would be compelled to launch the freedom struggle of the Tamil nation if peace talks were further delayed and the suffering of his people continued. In an urgent appeal the LTTE leader called upon the Government of Sri Lanka to resume the peace talks, without conditions, on the basis of the Interim Self-Governing Authority as proposed by his organisation.
Full story >>

Sri Lanka Cease Fire becoming irrelevant – Tamil MP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 November 2004, 10:30 GMT]
The Cease Fire Agreement would become increasingly irrelevant if there is not going to be any progress on the peace process, warned Tamil Parliamentarian Mr. Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam speaking on the on the second reading of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government’s first (2005) Budget on Saturday. “The Tamil people’s overwhelming desire for peace should not be allowed to be taken for granted. Our repeated recommitment to the ceasefire is being misinterpreted by this government to be a sign of weakness”, the MP said.
Full story >>

SLA, LTTE meet in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 November 2004, 16:05 GMT]
Delegations of the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Friday held discussions in the presence of the Head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Major General (retd) Trond Furuhovde, exploring ways to curb violence in Vavuniya. The Parties agreed to strengthen the dialogue prevent future incidents and to facilitate confidence-building between the parties, according to the joint statement released after the meeting.


Full story >>

Mannar situation calamitous- Thamilchelvan tells SLMM

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 November 2004, 13:02 GMT]
Head of Liberation Tigers Political Wing, S.P Thamilchelvan, in an urgent message to Head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Maj. Gen (retd) Trond Furuhovde described the situation in Mannar as "calamitous" that will lead to public unrest which is "totally undesirable" during the period of ceasefire and martyrs' day celebrations.
Full story >>

“Budget ignores collective will of Tamil Nation”-Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 November 2004, 05:27 GMT]
Mr.R.Sampanthan, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary group leader speaking during the Budget debate in Sri Lanka's parliament Thursday morning, said that it is outrageous that the Finance Minister did not even consult the legitimate representatives of Tamil Nation. "The right to internal self-determination has been consistently denied to the Tamil people. This budget is yet another manifestation of that denial...Nothing can be more humiliating to the Tamil psyche than the non-recognition of their collective will. This situation if continued can have serious repercussions," he said.
Full story >>

Urgent need to support NorthEast microfinance sector - GTZ

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 November 2004, 11:57 GMT]
German Technical Cooperation (GTZ)said in a press release issued Tuesday that ''higher levels of funding are required at this time and that many micro-finance service providers are in need of significant strengthening and capacity building if they are to provide effective services to the entrepreneurial poor,'' in the NorthEast region.
Full story >>

ISGA must be basis for talks- Gajendrakumar

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 November 2004, 00:31 GMT]
Speaking at a seminar on "Power Sharing for a lasting peace" held at the Social and Economic Development Center (SEDEC) in Colombo Saturday, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam said, "Tamil people believe that an interim administration is an essential prerequisite to embarking on talks for a solution to the conflict...and they will not allow the LTTE to give up the right to secession before the parties reach agreements on the outstanding core issues."
Full story >>

Tamil women's Confluence Event held in Trinco

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 November 2004, 03:32 GMT]
Tamil women associations in Varothiar Nagar- Puthukuddiyiurpu, a suburb three km off north of Trincomalee town held a "Women's Confluence (Sangamam)" Monday evening at Varothiar Nagar Barathi Tamil Vidiyalayam and handed over a birthday greeting card to Ms Kaaronja, Liberation Tigers' Trincomalee district women political wing to be forwarded to the LTTE leader Mr.V.Pirapaharan on his fiftieth birthday, sources attending the event said.
Full story >>

Jaffna islet families demand removal of pass system

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 November 2004, 15:19 GMT]
Pungudutivu Division Civil Groups Consortium (PDCGC) Saturday wrote to Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge to take immediate action to completely lift the residential pass system introduced for resettled families in Pungudutivu by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), civil sources in Jaffna said.
Full story >>

SLN bans fishing in Chullipuram Sea

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 November 2004, 13:52 GMT]
Jaffna District Fisheries Societies Federation (JDFSF) Saturday said hundreds of fishermen residing in coastal areas of Chullipuram would lose their profession following the construction of training centre along shore by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) violating the ceasefire agreement signed by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), sources said.


Full story >>

Media should promote ISGA- paper

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 November 2004, 11:48 GMT]
Pointing out the declaration by South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) that said "ISGA proposal could serve as useful basis for the commencement of talks to map out an interim structure," and to the statement made by Prof Uyangoda that there is "imperative need for the Sinhala leadership to abandon its mindset vis-à-vis the State structure based on majoritarian hegemony," Tamil daily Thinakural in its Wednesday editorial said that the "regional and the national media organizations which have taken hardline positions on ISGA should adopt a positive, flexible attitude."
Full story >>

Norwegian Foreign Minister begins talks with Pirapaharan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 November 2004, 07:20 GMT]
Norwegian Foreign Minister, Jan Peterson, began discussions with leader of the Liberation Tigers, Mr. Velupillai Pirapaharan, late on Thursday morning in Kilinochchi. The talks are expected to cover the current state of Sri Lanka’s peace process and efforts to further stabilize the ceasefire between the LTTE and Colombo. The LTTE leader was assisted by Mr. Balasingham at the discussions with the Norwegian Foreign Minister.


Full story >>

"Tamils have right to make their own constitution" – Mavai

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 November 2004, 08:52 GMT]
“The objective before us is to make our own constitution on the basis of our sovereignty, which is inalienable. We have the right to do it. The signing of the ceasefire agreement between the leader of the Tamil nation and the Prime Minister of the Sinhala nation proved that there are two states on this island”, said Mr. Mavai Senathirajah, Tamil National Alliance MP for Jaffna, speaking at the opening of the new building of the Thamil Eelam Law College in Kilinochchi Wednesday. The Thamil Eelam Law College was declared open by Ms. Adele Balasingham.
Full story >>

TNA MPs meet Solheim

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 November 2004, 11:25 GMT]
Norwegian Special Peace Envoy, Mr Eric Solheim, who arrived in Sri Lanka Tuesday morning, met with a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) delegation led by Senior M.P Joseph Pararasingham at the Norwegian Embassy in Colombo, political sources in Colombo said. Jaffna district parliamentarians Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, Ms Padmini Sithamparanathan, S. Gajenthiran, and Suress Premachchandran accompanied Mr Pararajasingham to the meeting.
Full story >>

Colombo's peace attempts, ploy to obtain aid funds- Prof Peiris

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 November 2004, 01:36 GMT]
"Sri Lanka President's double-speak is evident from the fact she tells the TNA one thing, and the JVP quite another. Her duplicitous attempts at peace are ploys to obtain aid funds without commencing talks", said Professor G.L.Pieris, who was the Guest speaker at a discussion held in Bright inn Hotel Colombo, Sunday, organized by the Western Province People's Front (WPPF) presided over by its Leader and Parliamentarian, Mano Ganeshan.
Full story >>

St.Mary's sings for unity

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 November 2004, 00:20 GMT]
"The absence of open conflict is not peace. Peace will start only when the parties have found solutions for their disagreements," said Mr. Dagfinn Aadnanes, Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Trincomalee district speaking as the chief guest at a musical event organized by the Past Students Association of the Trincomalee St. Mary's Girls College Sunday evening at the school's Theresian Auditorium. One hundred selected students of all communities from several schools in the district participated in the musical program.
Full story >>