Gowrimuhunthan, Kantharoopan appointed chairmen to Trinco Councils

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 April 2006, 12:27 GMT]
Councilors who have secured the first two places in the preferential votes in the Trincomalee Urban Council (UC) and the Trincomalee Town and Gravets Pradesiya Sabah (PS) on behalf of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchchi (ITAK) are to be appointed as the Chairman and Vice Chairman. Accordingly Mr.Subramaniam Gowrimuhunthan and Mr. Kanthasamy Selvarajah are to be appointed Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Trincomalee UC and Mr. Thangavelautham Kantharoopan and Mr.Vellaithamby Sureshkumar as Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Trincomalee PS respectively, ITAK sources said.
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Separate regiment, a ruse to split communities, say Muslim Leaders

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 April 2006, 18:16 GMT]
"Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) is launching a Muslim regiment in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to widen the split between Muslims and Tamils. Muslim community should not fall prey to this sabotage scheme," said several speakers at the Muslim Council's Eastern Conference held Saturday morning in Loyds Hall in Akkaraipattu, Adalaichenai, Batticaloa, chaired by its president N. M. Ameen.
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ITAK wins 35 Council seats in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 April 2006, 17:26 GMT]
Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchchi (ITAK) won one seat each in Kantalai PS, Seruvila PS, Morawewa PS, and Kinniya UC, two in Thamplakamam PS, three in Kuchchaveli PS and 4 in Muttur PS in addition to capturing power in the Trincomalee UC (10 seats), Trincomalee Town and Gravets PS (06) and Verugal PS (07 seats-uncontested).
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Supreme Court requests details on HSZ displaced

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 April 2006, 14:31 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Supreme Court requested details of families displaced from the High Security Zone in Valigamam North and who requested court intervention to allow them to resettle back in their homes, legal sources in Colombo said. The Court ordered the report to be submitted before the 8th April when it took up for further inquiry the Fundamental Rights (FR) applications filed by Mr.Mavai Senathirajah, Jaffna district parliamentarian, who was also displaced due to the HSZ.
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SLN, SLA violate ceasefire, Elilan tells SLMM

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 April 2006, 12:06 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) collaborating with paramilitaries had violated the ceasefire agreement in the LTTE controlled Muttur east and Vakarai area said Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Saturday. He lodged three separate complaints with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), sources said.


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SLN harassment of Ponnalai displaced escalates, complains TNA MP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 April 2006, 03:59 GMT]
Harsassment by Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) soldiers on members of displaced families from Ponnalai west in the western coastal area of Jaffna district has increased and the situation has deteriorated such that villagers are fearful for the safety of young girls, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, S Gajendran filed a complaint with the Jaffna Branch of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Friday, sources in Jaffna said.
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ITAK victory in Trinco proves NorthEast homeland for Tamils- TNA

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 March 2006, 20:19 GMT]
The victory of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) in the election for the Trincomalee Urban Council and Trincomalee Town and Gravets Pradesiya Sabah have strengthened the concept that the NorthEast province is the homeland for Tamil speaking people, said Mr.K.Thurairetnasingham, Trincomalee district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Friday evening after the counting of votes came to a close in the local councils held on Thursday.
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Tamil, Muslim candidates elected to Trincomalee UC

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 March 2006, 20:13 GMT]
No Sinhalese has been elected a member to the Trincomalee Urban Council in the election held Thursday. The newly elected council, which is to start functioning from April 15, will have twelve members- 10 from the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) and 2 from the Independent Group. Of the twelve members nine are Tamil members and three are Muslims. The ITAK fielded fourteen Tamils and two Muslims for the Trincomalee UC. Out of them nine Tamils and a Muslim got elected on preferential votes.
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UPFA victory should pave way for progress in peace- TNA

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 March 2006, 12:33 GMT]
"Local electoral rout of Sinhala extremist parties, the marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), and Buddhist monks party Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) is a clear mandate to Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse to take immediate steps to move peace process forward. Urgently, the Unitary Constitution and rejection of concepts of Tamil Homeland should be removed from "Mahinda Chintanaya," and replaced with concepts supporting Tamils right to self-determination," said Sivajilingam, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian commenting on the unfolding local election results giving UPFA huge victory and ITAK demonstrating its support base in the East.
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Thanthai Chelva's 108th birthday celebrations held in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 March 2006, 10:59 GMT]
"The dreams of "Thanthai" Chelvanayagam, embodied in the Vaddukkodai resolution, are coming true," said Mavai Senathirajah, Jaffna district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian in the special ceremony held Friday 9 a.m, commemorating the 108th birth anniversary of Mr. S. J. V. Chelvanayagam in Vavuniya, said sources.


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ITAK wins Trincomalee UC, PS, Thirukkovil PS, Alaiyadivembu PS

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 March 2006, 20:24 GMT]
Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchchi (ITAK), the Tamil National Alliance party contesting in the local authorities elections, has won all the 9 seats in Thirukkovil and Alaiadivembu Pradeshiya Sabahs and won Karaithivu with 4 seats in Amparai district. The ITAK also won after a long time, both the Trincomalee Urban Council with 10 seats, and Trincomalee Town & Gravets PS with 6 seats. UPFA got 2 seats and UNP 1 seat in Trinco Town & Gravets PS. In the local elections results released at 2 p.m. Friday, the ruling UPFA alliance has won 116 PSs, 7 Municipal Councils (MCs) and 12 Urban Councils (UCs). The JVP has captured only Tissamaharagama, and JHU has only secured a few seats.
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"Upsurging People's Force" warns of resuming offensive

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 March 2006, 19:54 GMT]
A press release titled, "Days are numbered for the traitors who sell our Mother land," signed by leaders ofthe "Upsurging People's Force of Jaffna District", was sent to all media in Jaffna Thursday night, sources said.
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LTTE political office in Arayampathi burnt

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 March 2006, 10:07 GMT]
The Arayampathi political office of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), located in the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled area in Kathankudy, Batticaloa, was set on fire Thursaday morning by unidentified persons who had damaged and robbed the things inside the office, said sources from Kathankudy.


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Brisk polling in Amparai local election reported

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 March 2006, 07:04 GMT]
Brisk polling is reported in the elections for the twelve local authorities in the Amparai district, which began Thursday morning at 7 a.m. At noon about fifty percent of voters have registered their franchise. Polling to four Tamil speaking local authorities, Sammanthurai, Thirukovil, Karaitivu and Alaiyadivembu and eight Sinhala local authorities, Amparai UC, and PS of Damana, Dehiyattakendiya, Uhana, Maha Oya, Namal Oya, Padiyattalawa and Laguhala in the Amparai district are in progress, election department officials in the south-eastern district said.
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Muslim regiment, a calculated attempt to seed disunity- TNA MP

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 March 2006, 00:24 GMT]
"President Mahintha Rajapakse's announcement of launching a Muslim Regiment, recruiting Muslim youth, ostensibly for the security of the Eastern province Muslims, is a calculated attempt to drive a wedge between the Eastern province Tamils and Muslims," said S. Jeyanandamoorthy, Tamil National Alliance Batticaloa parlimentarian, Wednesday. "This can be construed only as a deliberate attempt to derail the peace process and to wage war against the Tamils," added Jeyanandamoorthy in his statement.
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Sri Lankans go to local polls Thursday

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 March 2006, 20:42 GMT]
Sri Lankans will elect 4442 members for the 330 local councils in the elections to be held Thursday. In Trincomalee elections are being held after a lapse of 12 years, and in six NorthEast districts- Jaffna, Killinochchi, Mullaitivu, Mannar, Vavuniya and Batticaloa the elections have been postponed for six months.
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LTTE will participate at Geneva Talks if safe passage guaranteed through Colombo

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 March 2006, 16:15 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) will participate at the second session of peace negotiations in Geneva during 19-21 April provided that the Government of Sri Lanka and the Norwegian facilitators guarantee the safety and safe passage of the Tamil Tiger negotiating team through Colombo Katunayake international airport. Mr. Anton Balasingham, chief negotiator of the LTTE, said he made this specific request for the security of the negotiating team when he met the Norwegian Development Minister, Mr. Erik Solheim Wednesday at his residence in London.
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Solheim and Hanssen-Bauer to visit Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 March 2006, 13:29 GMT]
Norwegian International Development Minister Erik Solheim who met Liberation Tigers Chief Negotiator Wednesday in London, will be visiting Colombo next Thursday, according to a press release issued by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Colombo on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the newly appointed Norwegian Special Envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer will be visiting Sri Lanka on Monday 3 April on a four day visit.
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SLA, paramilitary collusion can lead to talks breakdown- TNA MP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 March 2006, 08:15 GMT]
"Escalation of paramilitary activities assisted by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops in Valaichenai villages pose serious threat to peace process," said Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Batticaloa parliamentarian S. Jeyanandamoorthy, in a press release, issued Wednesday. Meanwhile, Mr Ariyanendran, another TNA parliamentarian, accused the SLA troops for assisting the paramilitaries in the cordon and search operation held in Valaichenia Tuesday, and urged the International Community to condemn this act which openly violated the commitments made by the Sri Lanka Government in Geneva talks.


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SLA violates ceasefire agreement in Muttur-LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 March 2006, 02:05 GMT]
The Trincomalee district political secretariat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Tuesday lodged a complaint with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) that a group of soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in connivance with paramilitaries had unlawfully entered the area and attacked the LTTE camp located in Athiamankerni village in Seruvila division on March 27 night around 7 p.m. SLA soldiers and paramilitaries had fled from the scene when the LTTE cadres successfully retaliated their attack, the complaint said.
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