TNA representatives meet UN envoy

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 September 2005, 04:23 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance parliamentarians, Mr. R. Sampanthan, Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, Mr. Gajendran Ponnambalam and Mr. M. K. Sivajilingam on Tuesday met Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, the Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General Mr. Kofi Annan, in Colombo.
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Direct talks with Pirapaharan, a Day Dream- TNA MP

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 September 2005, 18:58 GMT]
"Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse is `day dreaming' when he says he will speak directly to the LTTE supremo to settle the ethnic issue," said Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian Joseph Pararajasingham criticizing the nonchalant attitude of Mr Rajapakse at the beginning of his campaign for Sri Lanka's Presidency.


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TNA delegation meets UK envoy

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 August 2005, 15:48 GMT]
A Tamil National Alliance parliamentary delegation Wednesday morning met with Mr. Stephen Evans, British High Commissioner in Colombo and exchanged views on the proposed talks between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) regarding the implementation of the ceasefire agreement to its word, current position of the P-TOMS following the Supreme Court's interim order, the urgency of establishing the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) and the future political scenario in the south which is expected to be followed with the order of the Supreme Court on the presidential election date controversy on Friday, TNA sources said.
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Tamil Conference begins in Batticaloa amidst bomb explosion

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 02 August 2005, 10:35 GMT]
A district level conference supporting the Tamil National Resurgence convention held in Vavuniya on July 27, ceremonially began at 4:15 p.m. at the grounds of Batticaloa Hindu College in Batticaloa town Tuesday. More than 1500 participants from various parts of the districts, comprising Tamil national activists including academics, writers, religious dignitaries, representatives of civil organisations and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MPs are participating in the conference amidst threats from paramilitary cadres operating in the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) held Batticaloa town. A powerful time-bomb exploded 50 meters from the grounds at 2:30 p.m., according to the Batticaloa Police.
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"Sri Lanka's Judiciary consistently denied justice to Tamils" - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 26 July 2005, 15:21 GMT]
"We have seen how the Judiciary of Sri Lanka aided the oppression of Tamil people during the period of war, and we have recently witnessed how Colombo's Supreme Court crippled the Agreement on Joint Mechanism accepted by the President of Sri Lanka," LTTE's Political Head Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan said in his key note address delivered in Kilinochchi at the ceremony to mark the opening of the new building for Legislation Secretariat of the Judicial Administrative Unit of the Tamil Eelam on Tuesday. "The Sinhala Nation has failed to seize the opportunity during this three and a half year period of absence of war to resolve the Tamil national question," LTTE's Political Head said.
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TNA, UNP discuss aid deal

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 June 2005, 17:15 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Sunday appealed to the main opposition United National Party (UNP) to openly declare its full support to the joint mechanism proposal and to insist that the Sri Lanka Government sign the agreement before tabling it in the parliament. TNA parliamentary delegation led by its leader Mr.R.Sampanthan met with Opposition Leader Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, Sunday afternoon and held discussions regarding the current political crisis following the withdrawal of the Sinhala Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) from the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, TNA sources said.
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TNA MPs protest over SL Government's failure to pullout troops

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 June 2005, 08:40 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians Tuesday brought the proceedings of Sri Lanka parliament to a halt twice staging a protest in the well of the House spotlighting the failure of the Sri Lanka government to keep its promise to withdraw government troops in deployed in the east port town after the unlawful erection of the controversial Buddha statue near the central bus stand in Trincomalee, parliamentary sources said.
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NorthEast to shutdown as Colombo fails to withdraw troops from Trinco

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 June 2005, 19:16 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians, Representatives of Trincomalee District Tamil People's Forum (TDTPF) and other Tamil civil groups, in a meeting held Thursday, decided to hold a one-day general shut down in NorthEast protesting the continued presence of Sri Lanka troops in Trincomalee town despite the assurance given by the Ministerial team that troops will be withdrawn by Thursday, TNA sources said.
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US Congressman visits Kilinochchi, meets with LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 02 April 2005, 10:00 GMT]
Mr. Danny K. Davis, Democratic Congressman from Chicago, Illinois and his Director of Services, Mr. Danny F. Cantrell, visited the LTTE's Political Headquarters in Kilinochchi on Saturday and met with Mr. P. Nadesan, Head of Thamil Eelam Police, sources in Kilinochchi said.
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Mother-Child Care centre new building opened in Akkarayan

[TamilNet, Friday, 01 April 2005, 16:15 GMT]
New building for the Maternity and Child Care Centre was declared open on Wednesday at Akkarayan, which is, located about 20 km off from Killinochchi at eighth milepost. The TRO of Killinochchi district with the funding Norwegian TRO constructed the newly opened building, sources said.


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US Senator's office exposes Lanka customs clearance fraud

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 March 2005, 13:10 GMT]
An over-charge of nearly US$4000 on an NGO during clearance of relief supplies was discovered due to the intervention of Maryland Senator Paul Sarbanes office, sources said. The fraud was discovered when officials of a Baltimore Church and Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), approached the Congressman for help to pressure Sri Lanka Government to waive the nearly $7000 US taxes it imposed on five water purifiers sent by the Baltimore church to NorthEast victims of recent tsunami.
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Tamil MPs protest march in Sri Lanka Parliament

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 February 2005, 08:26 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance MP marched on the driveway to the Sri Lankan Parliament carrying placards condemning Colombo for failing to avail itself of the cease fire with the Liberation Tigers signed three years ago. “Do not buy weapons with Tsunami aid”, “Disarm the paramilitaries”, “Don’t divide the Muslims and Tamils”, read some of the placards. The march and demo were led by senior Tamil Parliamentarians Mr. R. Sampanthan, Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, Mr. Mavai Senathirajah and Mr. Selvam Adaikalanathan.


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German Minister meets with TRO officials

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 February 2005, 06:15 GMT]
German Economic Cooperation and Development Minister Ms. Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul who is currently in Sri Lanka on a fact finding visit to see the tsunami damages met with Director of Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) Colombo office, Mr Chandru Pararajasingham, at the Pan Asia Hotel, Monday, TRO officials in Colombo said. TRO is an NGO registered with Government of Sri Lanka and works exclusively in the NorthEast.
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TNA meets with German Minister

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 February 2005, 17:34 GMT]
A delegation of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) compring TNA Parliamentary Group Leader, Mr. R.Sampathan, and parliamentarians Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, Mr. Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, and Mrs. Padmini Sithambaranathan, met with German Economic Cooperation and Development Minister Ms. Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul at the German Embassy in Colombo, Monday, political sources in Colombo said.
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Tigers meet Muslim leaders in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 February 2005, 14:24 GMT]
“First they divided us. Then they divided you. Sinhala leaders will always deny our rights. Tamil Muslim unity should be the foundation of your liberation struggle”, said Mr. I.M Ibrahim, secretary of the Mosque Federations of Amparai District, addressing senior Liberation Tiger leaders at a meeting between LTTE Muslim community leaders of Batticaloa and Amparai districts Monday in Kokkaddicholai, 15 kilometres southwest of Batticaloa town. “There are still problems, fears and doubts between us. We cannot gloss over them. We should grapple with them and build our unity at the grass roots level”, Mr. Thamilchelvan told the Muslims in his address.
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Violence endangering CFA stability, TNA tells Akashi

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 February 2005, 15:10 GMT]
"The violence unleashed against senior LTTE cadres and others on Monday the 7th in government controlled territory situated between two Army Camps, and in an area which has a strong armed forces presence, has raised grave questions in regard to the continued stability of the ceasefire," the Tamil National Alliance delegation led by its parliamentary group leader Mr Sampanthan told Mr Yasushi Akashi, the special envoy of the Japanese Government, when they met him Friday, a press release issued by the TNA in Colombo said.
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Thamilchelvan slams Colombo for Kousalyan's slaying

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 February 2005, 14:35 GMT]
"The cowardly act of the Sri Lankan government has taken away Kousalyan and his colleagues from us. Kousalyan came back to Batticaloa with many dreams. He came back with ambitious plans to rebuild this land, devastated by the Tsunami and impoverished by the war imposed by the Sinhala chauvinist state", said Mr. S. P Thamilchelvan, head of LTTE's political division on Thursday, speaking at the funeral of Mr. E. Kousalyan, at Thandiyadi Martyr's Memorial in Batticaloa.
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Radical decentralization of relief work needed, TNA tells Dutch FM

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 February 2005, 12:49 GMT]
A delegation of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) told the Foreign Minister of the Netherlands, Mr. Bernard Bot, when they met him Thursday that Colombo's attempt to centralize the rehabilitation work has not worked as experience from the last six six weeks clearly show that hardly any progress has been made in the restoration of the lives of the affected people. "The continuance of the present method of functioning could only result in further deterioration, and that it was imperative that the government urgently set up the required mechanism in the Northeast." the TNA delegation further told the visiting Netherland FM.


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Lack of tents, military meddling trouble Mankerni refugees

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 February 2005, 09:51 GMT]
“There are thousand seven hundred persons belonging to four hundred and eighty one families in this refugee camp. But we have only hundred and ninety eight tents to house them. Hundred and forty five tents were given by UNHCR and ICRC. The government gave us only forty eight tents. It is very difficult for the refugees. But we have asked them to cope”, Mr. Kandasamy Mahtikaran, village officer for Mankerni told TamilNet, describing the travails of this Tsunami devastated coastal settlement about 48 kilometres north of Batticaloa.
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Need 10,000 high-grade tents, says TRO Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 January 2005, 15:46 GMT]
The co-ordinating Colombo office of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), an NGO registered with Government of Sri Lanka and working exclusively in the NorthEast, told TamilNet that they need up to 10,000 tents that can hold a family of five to temporarily house displaced people in different areas of North East, and urgently need 200 tents within the next few days. “TRO offices in the United States are working to fulfill this need,” Chandru Pararajasingham, director of TRO Colombo office told TamilNet.
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