AFP_ENG_20041001.0527,
2004/10/01
Sri Lanka rebels begin internal meeting in Switzerland on peace talks
Sri Lanka's top Tamil Tiger rebel group on Friday began a week-long meeting in Switzerland which is meant to prepare for the next round of peace talks with the Sri Lankan government, the Swiss foreign ministry said.
Swiss officials met the chief negotiator of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Anton Balasingham and other rebel officials on the sidelines of the meeting of the LTTE's Consitutional Affairs Committee in Geneva, which is due to end on October 7.
The Swiss foreign ministry said in a statement that it "welcomes the LTTE's continuing willingness to negotiate, and calls for peace talks to be resumed as soon as possible".
The LTTE has blamed the government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga for the delay in reviving negotiations which the rebels themselves suspended in April last year.
But Kumaratunga said last month that the Tigers were holding up talks aimed at ending a conflict that has claimed more than 60,000 lives since 1972.
The Tamil Tigers were reportedly undertaking a three-week tour of Denmark, Ireland, Switzerland and Sri Lanka's peace broker Norway to persuade donors to use aid as a tool to pressure the government to resume peace talks based on rebel self-rule proposals.
The Swiss foreign ministry said "a possible interim administration of the north east of Sri Lanka as decided in the peace talks should be based on a federal structure within a united Sri Lanka" and backed Norway's role as facilitator.
Switzerland has a large community of Sri Lankan Tamil emigrants, and the country's decentralised federal political system has been cited as a potential model for the Indian Ocean island.
XIN_ENG_20041007.0098,
2004/10/07
Sri Lanka's mainstream Tamil rebel member killed in east
Internecine clashes between Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger rebels' rival factions continued in the east and one of the members of the mainstream rebel group has been killed, defense officials said on Thursday.
Dharmalingam Thyagalingam, a 37-year-old loyalist of the mainstream Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam faction was killed Wednesday night at Welikanda area in the east by members loyal to the renegade rebel eastern commander known as Karuna.
His killing came after Tuesday's killings of two Muslims by mainstream rebel members for supporting Karuna.
Internecine killings have become a feature mainly in the east of the country ever since Karuna broke ranks with the LTTE in March this year.
He challenged the leadership of the Tiger supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran and blamed the LTTE leader for alleged favoritism of northern members over the eastern ones.
The clashes have spilled into the Norwegian-backed peace process to end the country's two decades of ethnic conflict.
The peace process stalled since April 2003 is yet to be revived as internecine clashes have stood in the way among other issues.
The LTTE mainstream group accuses the military of providing cover to Karuna but the charges have been denied by the government.
AFP_ENG_20041009.0116,
2004/10/09
Sri Lanka commandos kill Tiger hit-man
Sri Lanka's elite police commandos Saturday shot dead a renegade Tamil rebel who killed a regional commander from the main guerrilla group, an official said.
The breakaway faction of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam shot dead a local commander known as Jude in the eastern Akkaraipattu region and minutes after commandos gunned down the assassin, police Special Task Force chief Nimal Leuke said.
The man killed by the commandos belonged to the breakaway faction of renegade commander V. Muralitharan, better known as Karuna, who went underground in April after leading an unprecedented split in March.
"We've been accused of siding with Karuna's group, but what we have shown that all we are interested is in maintaining law and order in areas where we are present," Leuke said.
Diplomats involved in Sri Lanka's stalled peace process have said the factional fighting was holding up efforts to revive direct negotiations between Colombo and the main rebel outfit.
The government here has accused the Tigers of killing over 250 of their political rivals since a truce arranged by peacebroker Norway went into effect in February 2002.
More than 60,000 people have been killed in Sri Lanka's separatist campaign led by the LTTE which was established in 1972.
XIN_ENG_20041014.0067,
2004/10/14
Sri Lanka prepares counter proposals against rebles' blueprint
Sri Lankan government has finalised a set of counter proposals to the Interim Self Governing Authority proposal put forward by the Tamil Tiger rebles, the government spokesman said here Thursday.
Mangala Samaraweera, the Minister of Information and Ports, said "counter proposals are ready and waiting," adding that the government was looking forward to the revival of direct negotiations with Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels.
Samaraweera stressted "we are baffled by the LTTE's delay in starting negotiations" referring to the current hiatus in the Norwegian-brokered peace process.
The ISGA proposals, also LTTE's interim power sharing blueprint, which was presented in October last year, were heavily criticised by Samaraweera's party then in opposition.
The new government after gaining power in April has been reluctant to start talks on the ISGA while the LTTE rebels have insisted that their ISGA proposals should be basis for the resumption of the peace talks.
The peace talks between the government and the LTTE rebels have been on hold since April last year when the rebels walked out following six rounds of direct negotiations under the Wickremesinghe regime.
XIN_ENG_20041014.0258,
2004/10/14
10 Sri Lankan Tamil rebels released on bail
A total of 10 Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels were released on bail on Thursday in the eastern Batticaloa district, the pro-rebel Tamilnet said.
The group of rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Tiger rebels were release under the orders of the country's Court of Appeal on cash bail, 50,000 rupees for each and with two sureties, each signing a bond for the same amount.
The rebels have been handed over to their representatives in the rebel-controlled territory in the east under the supervision of the truce monitors, the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission.
The rebels including four females were arrested by police in July this year and charged under the Offensive Weapons Act.
The LTTE rebels have been observing a Norwegian-brokered ceasefire since February 2002 when the two sides entered a truce agreement.
XIN_ENG_20041015.0050,
2004/10/15
More killings in eastern Sri Lanka
Two more killings took place in Sri Lanka's eastern area on Thursday night amid continuous internecine clashes between Tamil Tiger rebel rival factions, police said Friday.
Two members belonging to the mainstream Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels were killed in a shooting incident that happened late Thursday night at the eastern Batticaloa district's Punkudawali area controlled by the LTTE rebels.
The LTTE's renegade eastern commander known as Karuna was suspected for the killings, police said.
Two more LTTE's members were seriously injured when unknown gunmen fired at them in another incident at Kaluwankerni in the Muslim-dominated town of Valaichchenai in the east, police added.
Internecine clashes between rival factions of Tamil rebels have hampered the government efforts to revive the stalled peace negotiations on hold since April last year.
Karuna broke ranks with the mainstream rebel group in March this year.
The split has caused an escalation of violence in the east of the country.
The LTTE rebels have accused the government of colluding with Karuna to fight against them but the accusation was vehemently denied by the government.
XIN_ENG_20041016.0008,
2004/10/16
Sri Lankan Tamil rebels to release abducted homeguards
Sri Lankan Tamil rebels have said that they will release two homeguards held captive by them on Monday at the earliest possible date after they were produced before a rebel court in Sampur in the east of the country, the official Daily News said on Saturday.
Hagrup Haukland, deputy chief of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission overseeing the ongoing ceasefire between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels, said that the rebels had convey this message to them after consultation with their political wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan currently on a European tour.
He said that the two homeguards will be released on bail by LTTE on Monday and handed over to their family members.
The two homeguards were abducted by the LTTE rebels on Aug. 10 in the eastern port district of Trincomalee along with two T-56 weapons and a magazine.
Ever since their abduction by the rebels, the Trincomalee town has seen a series of protests against the LTTE act and the demonstrators have been demanding the release of the two homeguards.
The release of the two homeguards comes after a group of 10 LTTE rebels charged under the Offensive Weapons Ordnance were set free on bail on Thursday in the eastern Batticaloa district under a court order.
XIN_ENG_20041017.0003,
2004/10/17
Japanese special envoy to visit Sri Lanka
Japanese special envoy Yasushi Akashi will arrive here later this month to push for the early resumption of peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tiger rebels, the state-owned Sunday Observer newspaper reported.
Akashi, who is due to be here on Oct. 27, will hold talks with high ranking officials of both the government and the opposition in capital Colombo and the leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels in the rebel-held northern town of Kilinochchi.
He is expected to raise the issues of LTTE's recruitment of child soldiers and political killings in the north and east as well as in Colombo when he meets the LTTE leadership.
Akashi will also meet diplomats of countries concerned in Sri Lanka including representatives from international organizations over the issues of peace in the country.
On his way back home, Akashi will meet with Indian leaders and diplomats who are concerned about the Norwegian-brokered peace process in Sri Lanka.
He said that the Japanese government is optimistic over the peace process in Sri Lanka and pledged Japan's continuous assistance for reconstruction of the war-torn country.
Peace talks between the government and the LTTE rebels have been on hold since April last year after six previous rounds which started in September 2002.
XIN_ENG_20041026.0153,
2004/10/26
Sri Lankan Tamil rebels deny killing of Swiss national in east
Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger rebels on Tuesday denied their killing of a Swiss national in the eastern Batticaloa town and accused a media report of discrediting the rebel group by concocting the story.
"We strongly dismiss this allegation which is based on speculation and concoction of a story to discredit the LTTE ( Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam)," a rebel statement said.
The rebels said that Acting Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission Hagrup Haukland has informed them that the preliminary investigation conducted by the truce monitors indicated that "this is an individual criminal act which has no connection whatsoever with the LTTE."
A 61-year-old Swiss national named Hans Ulrich was killed Monday night by a hand grenade thrown into his toilet in Batticaloa town.
A media report has said that the killing was carried out by the LTTE rebels.
The east of the country has been a scene of continuous internecine clashes between the main LTTE rebel group in the north and their renegade eastern commander known as Karuna.
Karuna split from the main rebel group with his 6,000 fighters in March this year, but he went underground one month later when his fighting squad was crushed by the mainstream faction.
XIN_ENG_20041027.0234,
2004/10/27
Japanese special peace envoy arrives in Sri Lanka
Japan's special envoy Yasushi Akashi arrived here on Wednesday to start a seven-day visit to push for an early resumption of peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tiger rebels, governmental sources said.
Akashi will stay in the country until Nov. 2 to persuade the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to resume peace talks as soon as possible.
During his visit, Akashi is scheduled to meet with Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse and other officials to discuss the current situation of the peace process.
Akashi will also visit the rebel-held northern town of Kilinochchi and meet with the leaders of the LTTE rebels.
Peace talks between the government and the LTTE rebels have been deadlocked since April last year after six previous rounds which started in September 2002.