LTTE to intensify struggle for self-determination if reasonable political solution is not offered soon

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 November 2005, 12:04 GMT]
The leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in his annual Heroes’ Day statement made an urgent appeal to the new Sri Lanka Government of Mr Mahinda Rajapakse to offer a reasonable political solution to the ethnic conflict without further delay. The Tamil Tiger leader cautioned the government that his liberation organisation would intensify the struggle for self-determination and political independence if the new regime adopts a hard-line position and fails to resolve the problems of his people.
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Jaffna Campus Heroes' Memorial unveiled

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 November 2005, 10:53 GMT]
"People of Jaffna will never forget nor pardon the desecration of the memorials of more than 900 war heroes in the hallowed grounds of Kopay Martyrs Cemetary in 1996 by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers," Professor. C. Mohanadas, the Vice Chancellor of Jaffna Univeristy told TamilNet after addressing the opening ceremony of a Heroes' Memorial constructed within the Jaffna Campus premises, Thursday. "It was an act, unheard of in the civilized world," the Vice Chancellor said.
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Sri Lanka, a divided nation

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 November 2005, 02:21 GMT]
Predicting that if parliamentary elections were held and the LTTE encouraged Tamils to vote, the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) will likely lose the elections, and the United National Party (UNP) wll be able to form a coalition government with the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Robert C Oberst, Professor of Political Science at Nebraska Wesleyan University says Sri Lanka remains a divided nation, divided, not only between the Tamils, Sinhalese and Muslims, but also divided among the Sinhalese. He adds that renegade LTTE commander, Mr. Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan (Karuna), is the biggest loser in the elections.
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Rajapakse wins Sri Lankan Presidency

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 November 2005, 07:56 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s hardline Prime Minister has been elected as country’s fifth President. Results released Friday by the election commission indicated Premier Mahinda Rajapakse had received almost 50.3% of the vote, with his main rival, opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, taking 48.4% in a hard fought race that has long been described as too close to call.
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Muttur east, Eachchilampathu voters ignore poll

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 November 2005, 18:39 GMT]
No votes were cast in the clustered polling stations located in the army controlled area beyond the Kaddaiparichchan army camp for Tamil voters registered in the villages in the LTTE held Muttur east at the presidential poll held Thursday. Only one vote was cast at a clustered polling station located beyond the Mahindapura army camp in the government controlled area for Tamil voters registered in the LTTE held Eachchilampathu division, sources said.


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Sinhalese person shot dead in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 November 2005, 05:41 GMT]
Unidentified men shot dead a Sinhalese person in Palaiyootru, a suburb in the Trincomalee town, and the Uppuveli Police Tuesday night recovered the body in the shrub jungle in the area. The body was taken to the mortuary of the Trincomalee general hospital for identification and inquest, police said.
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SLA restricts civilian travel to Muttur east

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 November 2005, 17:42 GMT]
Civilians entering the Liberation Tigers controlled Muttur east territory in the Trincomalee district are now subjected to severe checking and interrogation by soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) manning the Kaddaiparichchan army camp checkpoint located on the border of the SLA and LTTE controlled areas. The defense establishment since last week has imposed this new security alert. In several instances civilians going to Muttur east were refused entry, sources said.


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SLMC for non-contiguous territorial autonomy for Muslims - Hakeem

[TamilNet, Monday, 31 October 2005, 16:28 GMT]
Mr.Rauff Hakeem, Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) Sunday said in Trincomalee that SLMC is for "non-contiguous autonomy" for Muslim territory in the northeast province, which recognizes Muslims right to self-determination. "The SLMC reached an understanding after several rounds of talks with the United National Party (UNP)," said Rauf Hakeem addressing an election rally in Jamaliya Nagar, a suburb north of Trincomalee town Sunday evening in support of Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe for Sri Lanka presidency.
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NPC urges NorthEast Tamils to vote

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 October 2005, 12:26 GMT]
Media Director of the Sri Lanka National Peace Council (NPC), Dr.Jehan Perera, Saturday appealed to the Tamil people vote for a candidate who could promote peaceful political solution to the ethnic problem and not to boycott the presidential election. He was addressing a seminar on "North-South Dialogue for Rebuilding of Sri Lankan Democratic Institutions," held at the Media Research and Training Centre of the Jaffna University.
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Rice mill worker shot dead in Akkaraipattu

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 October 2005, 10:11 GMT]
Two unidentified gunman riding in a motorbike shot and killed Mr. H.G.M Abeyaratna, 38, a rice mil worker at Kolavil, 2 km south of Akkaraipattu town, Saturday at 9:30 a.m. The rice mill worker, a Sinhalese from Akurana in Kandy, married to a Tamil woman and a father of a child, was residing at Kannakipuram Refugee Camp wheh he was shot, Police said the motive for the killing was not clear.
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Three-wheeler driver shot dead in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Thursday, 27 October 2005, 09:06 GMT]
Unidentified men Thursday noon shot dead the driver of a three wheeler at Kannagipuram in Orr's Hill, suburb in Trincomalee town. The dead has been identified as Mr.Anura Abeyaratne aged 24 a Sinhalese, and a resident of Sumedhagama, a suburb of the east port town, Trincomalee Police said.
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Fostering political transformation, key to peace - Norwegian Don

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 October 2005, 08:48 GMT]
Transformation of the Sri Lankan democracy into one that is capable of handling conflicts is essential in addition to the political transformation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for Sri Lanka to resolve its pressing ethnic struggle, notes Kristian Stokke, a Professor of Human Geography at the Department of Sociology and Human Geography at the University of Oslo, Norway. Pointing to the post-tsunami period which has witnessed divisive politicization of both peace and development due to the intra-elite fragmentation and rivalry in Sri Lankan polity, Prof Stokke argues that international community can only act as an enabler to stimulate the needed transformation.
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Trincomalee Declaration demands SL troops to vacate NorthEast

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 October 2005, 08:28 GMT]
Tamil speaking people in large numbers from north, west and south of the Trincomalee district attended the Tamil National Resurgence Convention held Saturday morning in the Playground located along the Inner Harbour Road in the east port city which is controlled by the Sri Lanka Army. Co-ordinating Committee of the Tamil national Resurgence in Trincomalee District, in the declaration, demanded the Sri Lanka troops to vacate the NorthEast land and seas and declared that the rally "demonstrates to the international community the thirst for freedom of the Tamil nation."
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Southern journalists donate learning materials

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 October 2005, 17:02 GMT]
The group of southern journalists, including three Buddhist monks at the conclusion of their 4-day goodwill mission donated a consignment of goods, including learning and teaching materials, to the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) at an event held at the Trincomalee district office of the TRO Tuesday morning. Southern journalists requested the TRO officials in Trincomalee to distribute these materials to war and tsunami affected students in LTTE held areas in the district.
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JVP's economic policy criticized by Sri Lanka's FM

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 October 2005, 15:19 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister and the brother of SL President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge, Mr. Anura Bandaranaike, slammed at the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna's (JVP) economic policy and their stance with regard to the scuttled P-TOMS at a press briefing held at his official residence Visumpaya Monday morning.
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Southern journalists on goodwill mission to Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 October 2005, 02:15 GMT]
About fifty sinhalese journalists and three Buddhist monks from Hambantota, Galle and Matara from south of Sri Lanka arrived in Trincomalee Saturday evening on a four-day good-will mission to obtain first hand information about problems faced mainly by Tamil people and others in the Trincomalee district and in areas held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The National Peace Council (NPC) of Sri Lanka organized this visit, sources said.


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Trinco TRO felicitates Sinhala, Muslim, Tamil pre-school teachers

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 October 2005, 00:05 GMT]
About six hundred pre-school teachers from all communities, Sinhalese, Muslims and Tamils, in the Trincomalee district were felicitated by the Pre-School Educational Development Centre (PSEDC) of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) at an event held Thursday in Trincomalee New Silver Star Hotel to mark the World Teachers' Day.
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EPDP cadre shot dead in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 October 2005, 10:24 GMT]
Unidentified armed men shot dead Mr.Kingsely Weeraratne, alias 'Suriya', a senior member of the paramilitary group, EPDP, at Palaiyootru, a suburb in Trincomalee town, around 10.45 a.m., Thursday.
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Doyen of FP, uncompromising on Tamil National question

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 October 2005, 00:16 GMT]
Are leaders of Sinhala community prepared to share state power with Tamils? Mr. V. Navaratnam, the only surviving founder member of the Federal Party that provided political leadership to Tamils for more than three decades since it was formed in 1949, and described as the brain behind FP, shared with TamilNet his views on Tamil National struggle. The doyen of Tamil politics who negotiated with the father of the incumbent President Chandrika Kumaratunge and other Sri Lanka leaders for sharing state power within a federal framework for almost three decades turns 96-years this month in Montreal, Canada. He also inked the Bandaranaiyake Chelvanayagam pact.
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Trincomalee children peace camp concludes

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 October 2005, 11:36 GMT]
Two day "Children Peace Camp" organized by the Centre for Performing Arts (CPA) for children of the internally displaced people sheltered in five welfare centers located in suburbs of Trincomalee town, Allesgarden, Linganagar, Manaiyaveli, Division No: 10 and Andanakulam, to mark the International Children Day held at Hindu Cultural Hall in the east port town concluded Sunday night. About two hundred children from all three communities, Tamil, Sinhalese and Muslim participated in the camp.
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