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Sri Lankan government had "abandoned" the cause of Dinesh Rajaratnam, a Tamil truck driver taken hostage by Islamic militants in Iraq on Thursday. According to the website, Rajaratnam's relations have appealed to Tamils all over the world to fight for the release of the hostage. Rajaratnam was working for a Kuwaiti transport company and not the American armed forces, they said. This clarification was necessary because Sri Lankan Tamils are generally against the US war against terror as they think it is aimed at the LTTE also.
The Nobel Laureate recalled his visit to Sri Lanka and his meeting with Mr. Tamilselvan in Kilinochchi and was eager to know of the current status of the peace process and general political situation. Speaking from his own experience in the Northern Ireland conflict and the peace process, Mr. Hume said, rigid polarization by the parties to the conflict should be avoided in the interest of conflict resolution and nation building. Referring to the splendid beauty of the island and the potential for development, Mr. Hume said that he, along with all those interested in peace, would encourage the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to enter into negotiations without any further delay. 
It is sad - indeed extremely so - that while we have allowed the Sethusamudram issue to grow into a controversy, this organization, South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme" (SACEP), never initiated anything on it, even before it became an issue here, has still not done so, and has left the entire regional public ignorant as to whether it will. SACEP should really, and still can, set its useful mechanisms in motion, in the most suitable ways - as we know in international endeavours - and even now undertake its own in-depth study and report, for itself as an organisation, and for India and Sri Lanka as service, as envisaged precisely in such situations for its participating countries. 
TAMIL BOOK : 30-10-2004
The Cuddalore police claim to have busted a fundamentalist outfit — Manitha Neethi Pasarai (MNP) located at Nellikuppam — which has been allegedly converting Dalits into Islam and imparting training to them in handling weapons and martial arts. The police have rounded up 15 persons, including three women — Pashira, Fatima Beevi and Chithira Rahina — and seized from them long sickles, foreign-made daggers, cellphones (one having Arabic names and numerals), audio and video cassettes, an amplifier, a binocular, a camera, digital diaries, incriminating documents and Rs. 85,000 (in the denomination of Rs. 500). 
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The film, which preaches atheism in the unreserved terms of Periyar E.V. Ramasamy Naicker, founder of the Dravidian movement, has suffered 25 cuts at the hands of Tamil Nadu's censor officials, say its director Velu Prabhakaran and dialogue-writer Jeyadevi.Prabhakaran says he accepted the cuts because he did not want the film's release to be delayed indefinitely. He, however, minces no words about the "unfairness" of the censorship. In an interview with a Tamil film magazine, he cites the example of the censors' disapproval of the lines spoken by a character: "Only in this country which worships Saraswati are there so many illiterates. Only in this country which worships Lakshmi are there so many poor people and beggars." 
The fishermen, belonging to different fishermen associations, were protesting against certain comments made by the DMK leader about their opposition to the Sethusamudram project. The fishermen associations have expressed fears that the implementation of the project would adversely affect the livelihood of lakhs of fishermen in the coastal areas of the state. It would also destroy the national environment park in the Gulf of Mannar. The fishermen leaders, including All India Fishermen Federation general secretary M A Raja, said Karunanidhi had accused them of opposing the project at the instigation of the Sinhalas. The arrested fishermen were later released in the evening.
Meanwhile, over the past few weeks there has been extensive public discussion regarding the perceived implications of the project on Sri Lanka. Sri Lankans have been crying hoarse about the ecological impact of the project on Sri Lankan shoreline coral reefs and, of course, on the Colombo port’s business. The Colombo port currently handles 1.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of which 40 per cent is Indian transhipment cargo. It fears Sethusamudram project can wean away a substantial chunk of it.
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Taking tips from Radhika Selvi, the widow of a man killed by police, who got the DMK ticket and is now an MP, Muthulakshmi is also hoping that a Dravidian party will offer her an entry into the political world. The 35-year-old widow has complained to rights groups about the manner in which Veerappan was killed - the man blamed for 120 murders who had eluded capture for two decades and was shot down last Monday after a meticulous operation by the STF. She has also complained to rights groups about harassment and livelihood denial. 
“She denied any knowledge but one of the men hit her in the knee with a cane. She could not walk for a week after that but one night, a man came with some cash (Nimban does not remember how much). Years later, she told me it had come from Veerappan. The money fed us for three months,” said Nimban. 
Resolution - 5 : This conference request the Government of India to speed up the execution and complete the Sethusamudram project, which is a long pending desire and dream ideal of the people of Tamilnadu. It was also resolved to request the government of Tamil Nadu to extent its full co-operation in this regard.
Velladurai, who had learnt to speak Tamil like the Sri Lankan Tamils do, carried a letter and some photos to prove that he was a LTTE man. In the beginning, Veerappan was suspicious, and had refused the offer. But he was convinced after he was shown the letter and the photographs. Sub Inspector Velladurai told him that he could bring along his remaining associates too. Veerappan then asked searching questions on how to get out, what route to take, and how much it would all cost. He was told that the journey up to Salem would be by an ambulance, and !
then a
private car would take them to Rameswaram, for the onward journey by a speedboat to north Sri Lanka. The whole trip would cost Rs 3 lakh, Velladurai said. Eager to dodge the police dragnet, which was closing in on him, Veerappan decided to leave his Ponnagaram hideout on October 18 at 10 pm. 
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Makkal Urimai Koottamaippu said the commission should go into the background, including foisting of cases against those who mediated with Veerappan. It should also take note of the case filed by the wife of the former Karnataka Minister, Nagappa, pleading for an enquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the killing of her husband. She had alleged that the STF had killed him. Kolathur Mani, Prabha. Kalvimani and K. Sukumaran.
The State Secretary showed keen interest in the peace process and expressed dismay over the inability of political forces in the south to reach a consensus in resolving the national conflict which is very vital for the betterment of the country as a whole. Mr. Tamilselvan dealt with at length on the various aspects of the political development in the south with special reference to the main opposition party the UNF offering unconditional support to the government in the peace process.
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In the cassette, Veerappan had also responded to one of his newscasts in which Kumar had stated that the bandit had killed 135 people in his jungle raj. "Admitting that he has killed so many people, Veerappan was extremely polite in his reasoning," the BBC Correspondent recalled. He said the bandit narrated the alleged atrocities of the STF, and justified his killings. Veerappan said he had elimi!
nated
only those who had raped and murdered innocent tribal women, Kumar added. [
Pirapaharan signed a ceasefire agreement with former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on 22 February 2002. The ceasefire has held despite severe strain and, in the six rounds of talks with the government facilitated by Norway and backed by the international community, Pirapaharan has shown accommodation and has agreed to a broad framework for the settlement of the ethnic dispute. The Oslo and Tokyo Declarations provide for a self-governing autonomous unit within a united Sri Lanka as the basis for the settlement. The Interim Self-Governing Authority proposals the LTTE submitted in October last year provide the basis for the sharing of power between the central government and the self-governing unit. He has now announced that his Interim Self Governing Authority is negotiable. The Kumaratunga government, s!
truggling
with internal contradictions, has not responded. 
Police say he was killed along with three associates in a jungle forest. Veerappan, a Tamil, was accused of more than 100 murders - as well as kidnapping, smuggling and poaching - and had been on the run for 20 years.The Indian government had offered a 50m rupee ($1.1m) reward for any information leading to his arrest. Special Task Force chief K Vijay Kumar said police surrounded Veerappan and his associates near the village of Paparapatti, some 320km (200 miles) southwest of Madras, the state capital. "We announced on the speakers fitted to our jeeps that since he was surrounded and there was no way he could escape, he and his associates should give themselves up," Mr Kumar told the AFP news agency."There was silence for about a minute and then, there was firing from the other side. We took cover and retur!
ned the
fire, killing Veerappan and his three associates," he said. The bodies had been taken to Dharmapuri hospital, he added. Police had been hunting Veerappan in forests on Tamil Nadu's border with the neighbouring state of Karnataka. The Tamil Nadu chief minister is expected to make a 
statement soon. A tall, wiry man with a trademark handlebar moustache, Veerappan had been considered the country's most ruthless and daring bandit. He was involved in the kidnapping two years ago of former state minister of Karnataka, H Nagappa, who was found dead after three months in captivity. He was also involved in the kidnapping for a famous film star, Rajkumar, four years ago. The film star was released after 108 days of captivity, allegedly for a huge ransom. Veerappan is said to h!
ave
offered to surrender to police twice - once in the late 1980s and then in 2001. There had been allegations that he had close links with some banned extremist Tamil nationalist groups as well as the Tamil separatist group of Sri Lanka, the LTTE. 
The commander of the rebels' naval forces, S. Sivaneshan, has been suffering from severe pain recently from a spinal injury sustained in a battle with Indian government forces during their 1987-1990 mission to help the Sri Lankan government, rebel sources said on condition of anonymity. The rebel sources didn't give further details on the injury or his current condition. Sivaneshan, also known as Soosai, was airlifted from rebel territory by a government helicopter early Tuesday and brought to the capital, Colombo, before flying out to Singapore on a commercial flight, defense officials.![Tamil Info Service [TIS] - Click to visit Home Page](http://www.tamilinfoservice.com/image/tis/tis_smal.gif){kind=small}
A WOMAN'S best friend is another woman. Or better still a policewoman. That is the premise on which a technology project involving the women police of Tamil Nadu works. The project seeks to tackle a common but complex problem — domestic violence against women. The troublemakers, invariably, are drunken husbands, dowry-greedy mothers-in-law or other hostile relatives. 
Brushing aside the opposition of environmental activists in the implementation of Sethu Samudram ship canal project, Baalu said, ``all political parties are supporting the project and it has blended with the emotions of the Tamils as well''. When asked whether the fishermen who are likely to be affected during the phase of the project's execution will be awarded due compensation, the Minister said, ``the construction of the canal will be approached with a human face.''On the ferry service between Thoothukudi and Colombo, Baalu said, ``the move has been dropped and the Centre will not compel the State to initiate the ferry service."
The Sinhalese-dominated government is guilty of land grabbing, by forcing a planned colonization of the traditional homeland of the Tamils in the Northeast and by settling Sinhalese from the South in Tamil lands from independence up until the present day. For example, in the Tamil village of Manalaru, the Tamils were uprooted, it was renamed Welioya, and Sinhalese convicts were settled. The protests by Tamils and their leaders have been ignored and the Tamils who are the original inhabitants have been deprived of their lands, reducing the latter to the position of a minority in parts of their own homeland. 
"The Tamil people are greatful to the Government of Finland for it's significant contibution to the efficient functioning of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM)" said Mr. S.P. Tamilselvan Head of the LTTE Political Wing in a meeting with Mr. Jaakko Laajava Under- Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Finland today 14th October 2004 held at the Foreign Ministry complex. 
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When the SIT was investigating the assassination, there were charges of suppression of evidence and allegations of selectivity in prosecuting the accused. For some inexplicable reason, experts say, the most crucial aspects of the conspiracy were deliberately left out. What is worse is that when these gaps in the Jain Commission of Inquiry were unambiguously pointed out (allegedly as part of a well-planned conspiracy), its findings were denigrated, the commission was scuttled and, finally, the report was brushed under the carpet. 
The LTTE delegation led by Mr. Tamilselvan presented an overview of the current political situation and made special reference to the consensus in the south on the necessity to recommence talks and emphasized that the government should make use of the opposition support and help to brake the deadlock. Mr. Milders assured the delegation that the people of The Netherlands will be always supportive of the peace process in general and the humanitarian delivery in the North-East. 
Mr. Wickramasinghe had already indicated that his party would participate in the National Advisory Council on Peace and Reconciliation once the negotiations with the LTTE resume and proceed. Mr. Wickramasinghe believes that the National Council on Peace and Reconciliation won't be a body going against the deliberations of the government. As the president says it is only a body to keep the people informed and for the people to advise. The president has very clearly stated, Mr. Wickramasinghe says, that the council won't be used for the government to run away from the responsibility of finding ways and means of resolving the conflict. Mr. Wickramasinghe has reiterated in his letter what he had said in the meeting with her namely that his party, UNP, gives in to her and her government to negotiate !
with the
LTTE abiding by the Tokyo declaration and Oslo report. However, despite these assurances the UNP gives the President and the government, as it is well known to the public, on the matter of the peace process there are sharp differences among the constituents of President Kumaratunga's Alliance. JVP's stand on the subject of negotiating with the LTTE is no secret. 
The dispersal of Tamils around the globe is not of recent origin and at the moment there are seventy million of them spread in over fifty countries of the world. The Tamil diaspora is a growing togetherness of more than seventy million people living in many lands and across distant seas, many thousands as refugees and asylum seekers. It is a togetherness rooted in an ancient heritage, a rich language and literature, and a vibrant culture. But it is a togetherness which is not simply a function of the past. It is a growing togetherness consolidated by struggle and suffering and given purpose and direction by the aspirations of a people for the future – a future where they and their children and their childrens’ children may live in equality and freedom in an emerging!
one
world.
Book Release function to-day at Dubai
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17-year-old girl observed fast near the office of the Superintendent of Police (Armed Reserve) here today, demanding that action be taken against a constable who, she alleged, had cheated her after having 'sexual relationship' with her. The girl, holding two placards on which she had written 'Fight to marry the lover' and 'Fast unto death', said she was in love with the constable Manikandan.
Tamil Sangam literature (ca 200 B.C. to 200 A.D.) also refers to the five major ecosystems — the Kurunji (mountains), Mullai (forest), Palai (arid zone), Marudham (fertile plain) and the Neidhal (the coast). all the three coastal ecosystems of India, including that of the Indian Ocean intersect only in Tamil Nadu, at Kanyakumari. The world's second longest beach, the Marina, at Chennai, with its fishermen and their traditional ways, the luxurious mangroves at Pitchavaram, the 21 sandy little islands in the Gulf of Mannar, that yielded the chanks and pearls of ancient Roman and Greek trade, coral reefs with their pretty ornamental fish and cowries, and seagrasses that attract the curious dugongs and turtles, all constitute the recently created Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere, with nearly 36,!
000
species of marine bio-diversity. 
Sri Lanka's top Tamil Tiger rebel group 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 (LTTE), 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. 
"We have given a commitment to the Ministry to give the DPR before November 30, and we are on target," he told Business Line. L&T-Ramboll is an independent engineering consultancy firm, formed by Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Ramboll (Denmark) and IFU (the Danish Industrialisation Fund for Developing Countries). There will also be a new study on ship manoeuvring behaviour in the ship canal using mathematical modelling. A limited tender would be called for to do the study. "With such a huge project (the ship canal project), we do not want to take any chance, and need to revalidate the earlier studies," he said. The new studies would cost about Rs 70 lakh, Mr Raghupathy said.
