LTTE denies Moragoda gave assurance over Washington conference

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 April 2003, 19:33 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers denied Monday that Sri Lanka’s Economics Reform Minister, Milinda Moragoda, had given them an assurance they would be able to attend the international aid conference in Washington on April 14 as quoted in weekend press reports. The LTTE’s Chief Negotiator Anton Balasingham told TamilNet Monday the organisation was unable to attend the meeting as it is proscribed in the United States and reports suggesting Mr. Moragoda had given assurances otherwise were incorrect.
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Opposition parties should not disrupt peace process - LSSP

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 April 2003, 16:06 GMT]
The opposition parties in Sri Lanka should not derail or be hostile to the peace process for their own political gain, said the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) in a statement to the public on Monday.
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PM's advisor in Jaffna to see ground situation

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 April 2003, 12:20 GMT]
Sri Lanka Prime Minister's senior advisor Mr.Bradman Weerakone at the end of his two-day visit to Jaffna Sunday said at a conference held at Jaffna District Secretariat that the reply to be sent shortly to the LTTE political advisor Mr Anton Balasingham would contain assurances that will help the resumption of the peace talks. Meanwhile Mr.Weerakone Saturday instructed the Government Agent to hand back the municipal lands to the Jaffna municipal council, sources said
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Muttur lacks basic medical services - TNA MP

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 April 2003, 04:13 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Mr.K.Thurairetnasingham Saturday brought to the notice of the Minister of Health, Nutrition and Welfare that even after fourteen months of the ceasefire coming into operation Muttur residents are still without basic medical services, sources said.
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SLMM clarifies issues in Proposals on Security at Sea

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 April 2003, 18:24 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission issued a press release on 25 Friday clarifying issues in its proposals contained in the ‘Initial Discussion Paper’ that outlined arrangements to avoid future incidents at sea between the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and Sea Tigers.
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Sri Lanka's joint opposition wants India as sea monitor

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 April 2003, 18:01 GMT]
Mr.Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lanka's former foreign Minister and advisor to President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge, presiding over a press conference held Friday said that India and two other countries should be included as Naval monitors under the present ceasefire agreement. The joint opposition leaders also warned that the United States and United Kingdom are conspiring to destabilize India, political sources in Colombo said.


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LTTE responds to US Ambassador

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 April 2003, 16:25 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers Friday denied they had walked away from negotiations with the Sri Lankan government and said they were temporarily suspending talks “to provide time and space for the government to implement crucial decisions.” Responding to comments by the United States Ambassador, Mr. Ashley Wills, the LTTE’s Chief Negotiator and Political Advisor, Mr. Anton Balasingham told TamilNet Friday “As the representatives of our people we reserve the right to express our displeasure if decisions at the talks are not implemented and bi-lateral agreements are not fulfilled.”


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No threat of resumption of war - Minister Peiris

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 April 2003, 18:58 GMT]
The ceasefire agreement signed last year by the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is still in force and there is no threat of resumption of war following the pull out by the LTTE from peace talks, said Minister G.L. Peiris, addressing the weekly cabinet press briefing Thursday.
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Speedy relief essential for success of talks - TNA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 April 2003, 11:26 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Wednesday requested the United National Front (UNF) government to formulate and implement a new approach that could provide speedy relief to the grievances of several thousands displaced Tamils without further delay fulfilling the justifiable expectations of Tamils since the signing of the ceasefire agreement, sources said.


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SLA tightening its grip on Northeast - Para

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 April 2003, 19:57 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army is strengthening its foothold where civilians live in the North-East even after the signing of the ceasefire agreement between the United National Front government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, said Mr. Pararajasingham (Para), Head of the Judicial Division of the LTTE, addressing a meeting in Jaffna town Wednesday.
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LTTE suspends negotiations with Sri Lanka pending implementation of agreements reached

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 April 2003, 12:51 GMT]
Expressing deep displeasure over certain critical issues relating to the ongoing peace process, the LTTE leadership Monday informed the Sri Lankan government that it has decided to suspend its participation in the negotiations for the time being.
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Northeast celebrates Annai Poopathy anniversary

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 April 2003, 15:45 GMT]
Fifteenth year anniversary of Annai Poopathy memorial day was celebrated across the Northeast. Special events are being organized in Navalady, Batticaloa, on district basis in Trincomalee, Vavuniya, Mannar, Vanni and Jaffna, sources said. In Nallur, Jaffna the commemoration events started with a symbolic fast.


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Peacetime maternity deaths rise in Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 April 2003, 19:30 GMT]
The medical facilities available in Kilinochchi during the current period of peace is worse than what was available during the war, medical officials in Kilinochchi said, quoting statistics from government officials that show that seven women died during their maternity care at hospitals in Kilinochchi in the last year.
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Accidents on the rise on A-9 highway

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 April 2003, 14:02 GMT]
Following the re-opening of the Jaffna-Kandy road (A-9) for traffic in 2002, there have been seventy-two vehicle accidents that resulted in eight deaths within the Kilinochchi division of the Tamil Eelam Police Service (TEPS), and accidents have increased in the first quarter of this year, LTTE officials said.
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Undeterred by controls, Pt. Pedro celebrates tradition

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 April 2003, 13:40 GMT]
Pt. Pedro is the oldest harbour town on the Jaffna peninsula’s sea coast. The Portuguese called the town Puntas das Padras (rocky point) on account of the reefs that line its coast. Tamils, however, still refer to it by its old name Paruththithurai (cotton port in Tamil). This week the townspeople celebrated the annual chariot and water cutting festivals of one of their old temples that have lain long and neglected inside the SLA’s high security zone in Pt. Pedro.
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SLA relocates Sarasalai camp

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 April 2003, 15:35 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army on Monday relocated its camp from Sarasalai area in Thenmaradchchi to another site in a coconut grove near Kanagan Puliady junction, sources said.


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Preliminary aid conference held in Washington D.C

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 April 2003, 11:05 GMT]
A preliminary conference to the forth coming international aid conference in Japan was held in Washington D.C on 14 Monday at Loy Auditorium. The seminar, hosted by the State Department, was attended by representatives from 26 countries and 16 international organizations. Japan's special envoy to Sri Lanka Yashushi Akashi, Norway's Deputy Secretary of State, Vidar Helgessen and India's ambassador to U.S, Lalith Mansingh, were also present.
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Returnees face uphill task in rebuilding Illupaikulam

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 April 2003, 11:16 GMT]
Displaced people from Illupaikulum, a village located six kilometers north of the east port town along the Trincomalee Kuchchaveli main road, are returning to resettle in their lands with the signing of the ceasefire agreement. After fifteen years of neglect with the village overgrown with jungles and its basic infrastructure facilities destroyed in war, the returning residents face an uphill task in rebuilding their village, sources said.
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LTTE to boycott Japan aid conference

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 April 2003, 09:58 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said Saturday it would review its decision to participate in the international conference in Tokyo in June in protest at its exclusion from the preliminary conference to be held in Washington on Monday. "The authentic representatives of the Tamil people should have been invited to this major international conference to articulate the interests and aspirations of our people," the LTTE said in a statement issued in the Vanni Saturday.
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SLN mines infest Talaimannar Mosque

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 April 2003, 15:49 GMT]
More than 300 hundred Muslim families are unable to resettle in Talaimannar because their homes are in minefields laid by the Sri Lanka Navy which are yet to be cleared despite 13 months of ceasefire, rehabilitation officials in Mannar said. Many Muslim and Tamil homes in the once bustling bazaar of Talaimannar Pier are still occupied by the Navy or lie within its security boundary. The area surrounding the local Mosque is infested with land mines and booby traps.
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