SLFP-organised protest against diaspora fails in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 December 2010, 14:27 GMT]
Only fifteen persons, one of them a female, participated in a token fast held in Jaffna central bus stand Sunday morning. The protest fast was organised by the SLFP condemning Tamil Diaspora for opposing the recent visit of Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse to London. However, the fast that started around 8 a.m. was called off by noon due to the poor response from the public.
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Mannaar Muslims brought back from Puththa'lam stranded without facilities

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 December 2010, 14:19 GMT]
900 displaced Muslim families brought down to Mannaar by Rishad Bathiyutheen, a minister in Rajapaksa's cabinet, are stranded without proper assistance or basic facilities in their villages in Mannaar for the past three days, the Muslim IDPs complain. Many of the IDPs brought to Thaaraapuram chose to return to Puththa’lam as there have been no preparations, but only promises extended to them by the minister, who is locked in a campaign against U. L. Muthaliph Farook, who is scheduled to fill the vacancy of late parliamentarian Noordeen Mashoor ahead of local elections expected in the early part of 2011.
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War crimes ignored in East, focus urged on ‘killings’ at Eastern University

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 December 2010, 07:09 GMT]
While the war raged in Vanni war front, Sri Lanka Army deployed paramilitary operatives with close link to Rajapaksa quarters in Colombo, killing a female hostel warden and two female Tamil students from Vanni at the Eastern University in February and March 2009, journalists from Batticaloa said citing information from ex-paramilitary personnel and naming a key operative in Vaazhaichcheanai in Batticaloa with close links to Rajapaksa's cabinet as the man who carried out the orders from the top. In the meantime, a 54-year-old man from Paa'ndiruppu linked to Iniyapaarathi, the most feared operative of Karuna group, was found dead Friday hanging inside a building used by the group earlier.
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Sri Lanka extends State of Emergency

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 December 2010, 01:15 GMT]
The Sri Lanka’s parliament Wednesday evening adopted a motion to extend the State of Emergency for another month by a majority of 130 votes. 145 parliamentarians of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and its constituent parties voted for the motion. Fifteen parliamentarians from the main opposition United National Party (UNP), Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Democratic National Alliance (DNA) voted against the motion.
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NLF leader Karunaratna's supporters assaulted at airport

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 December 2010, 01:51 GMT]
Supporters of Dr.Wickremabahu Karunaretna, leader of the New Left Front (NLF), Tuesday, who went to receive him at the Katunayake International Airport (KIA) on his return after a visit to London, were assaulted by aviation authority officials and a gang said to be sent by a deputy minister in the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, according to complaint lodged by Dr.Wickremabahu Karunaretna, NLF sources in Colombo said.
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Weerawansa calls for protest against British High Commission

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 December 2010, 19:27 GMT]
Blaming the British government for 'failing' to provide 'adequate security' to the visiting Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa, a minister in the Rajapaksa's cabinet Wimal Weerawansa Thursday called for a protest in front of the British High Commission in Colombo on Friday. In July 2010, minister Weerawansa staged 'devil dance' in front of the UN office in Colombo demanding the UN to dissolve the expert panel announced to investigate allegations of war crimes and human rights violations in the island. The protest against the UN turned violent and Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa went to the extent of threatening the police officers who were protecting the UN office from the violent protesters.
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SL parliament adopts 2nd reading of 2011 Budget

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 November 2010, 17:36 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s parliament Monday evening adopted the second reading of the Budget for the year 2011 by a majority of 104 votes. 150 parliamentarians of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and its constituent parties voted for the budget. 46 parliamentarians of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) and the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) led by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) voted against. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians abstained from voting.
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Number of Cabinet ministers in SL government rises to 61, deputies 34

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 November 2010, 17:38 GMT]
The number of Cabinet rank ministers in the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government led by Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa has risen to sixty one with the appointment of one more minister and the number of deputy ministers to thirty-four with the appointment of three more. Milroy Fernando, former Resettlement Minister Thursday took oaths as the Minister for Social Welfare increasing the number of senior ministers to eleven.
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Opposition Councilors accuse JMC administration of embezzlement, corruption

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 November 2010, 06:48 GMT]
Eight opposition councilors of Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC) led by Tamil National Alliance (TNA) councilor, M. Remediyas have jointly released a media report Tuesday accusing the JMC administration run by ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) of embezzlement and corruption. The councilors have also sent a detailed report of the misadministration of JMC by its Mayor, Ms. Yogeswary Patkunam and Deputy Mayor in collaboration with Sri Lanka minister Douglas Devananda, to the Governor of Northern Province. The councilors pointed out in their report that the JMC administrators continue to reject whatever proposals submitted by the opposition councilors.
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SLMC officially crosses over to government

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 November 2010, 12:18 GMT]
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) officially crossed over to the government side during parliamentary sessions when it met Monday. Rauff Hakim, leader of the SLMC crossed over with his seven fellow parliamentarians. Hakim was sworn in as Minister of Justice and SLMC Chairman Basheer Segu Dawood as the Deputy Minister of Co-operative and Internal Trade Monday morning. All SLMC parliamentarians were seen seated with the government parliamentarians when President Mahinda Rajapaksa presented his 2011 Budget in the capacity of Finance Minister.
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Sri Lanka deports Lebanese couple

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 November 2010, 10:45 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Immigration and Emigration Department Saturday morning deported the Lebanese Democratic Youth Union Leader, Mohamed Hottait, and his wife on a charge of participating in a protest rally organized by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) against the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government in Kandy. The couple had been a tour in Sri Lanka.
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SLN, EPDP intimidate LLRC witnesses in Jaffna islets

[TamilNet, Sunday, 14 November 2010, 10:57 GMT]
Members of the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) Intelligence Unit and of the Eealam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) Sunday intimidated many potential witnesses who were planning to appear before the Lesson Learnt & Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) during its sessions in the SLN controlled islets of Jaffna, persons present at the sessions said. Some government officials too are alleged to have assisted the intimidators. A press reporter who had filmed a man intimidating one of complainants had threatened the reporter with death and when this was brought to the attention of the head of LLRC with the assistance of the officials of American and Norway officials present at the site, the man was arrested by the police who recorded his statement and let him free, the sources added.
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24th Anniversary of the massacre of 320 Tamils in Batticaloa remembered

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 November 2010, 16:32 GMT]
The massacre of 320 innocent Tamils of Pullumalai in Batticaloa district on 10.11.1986 by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Sinhala thugs was remembered Wednesday by the people of Batticaloa district. The SLA soldiers and the Sinhala thugs who brutally massacred the 320 Tamils were not arrested during the United National Party (UNP) government then and the present United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) too has failed to take action on them or to pay compensation for the affected or find the disappeared persons, sources in Batticaloa said. Complaints made by the victims’ family members to Sri Lanka President’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Committee (LLRC) recently in Chengkaladi Secretariat were not registered, the sources added.
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Emergency extended for another month in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 November 2010, 05:09 GMT]
Sri Lanka parliament Tuesday adopted the motion tabled by the Prime Minister seeking the approval to extend the state of emergency for another month by a majority of one hundred and fourteen votes. One hundred and twenty-five members of parliament of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and its constituent parties voted for the motions.
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Wimal Weerawanse’s party office in Batticaloa burnt down

[TamilNet, Thursday, 04 November 2010, 09:37 GMT]
Unidentified persons arriving on motor bikes set fire to the office of the National Freedom Front (NFF), a constituent of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government led by Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa, located along Punnaikkudaa Road in Ea’ravoor division in Batticaloa district Wednesday afternoon. NFF is a splinter group of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) that is currently campaigning vigorously against the regime of Rajapaksa. JVP is alleged to be instigating university students against the government.
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Court remands student leader, UNP condemns arrest

[TamilNet, Saturday, 30 October 2010, 13:48 GMT]
The Colombo Magistrate Friday ordered remand for Udul Premaratne, Convener of the Inter University Students Federation (IUSF), a student front organization of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), till November 12. Premaratne was produced in court after detention and interrogation at the office of the Nugegoda Division Superintendent of Police.
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Jaffna Public Library out of bounds to tourists

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 October 2010, 17:27 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) officials Friday informed the Chief Librarian of Jaffna Public Library that tourists will not be permitted to visit the library and that SLA soldiers will be posted outside it to maintain order, sources in Jaffna said. The officials who said that they had been instructed by high level government authorities did not, however, disclose who the authorities were. This instruction comes in the wake of a gang of Sinhala tourists storming into the library and vandalizing the premises of the Thanthai Chelva memorial monument located next to the library last Saturday. SLA authorities have posted four soldiers at the entrance of the library Friday.
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SLA targets prominent Tamil businessmen in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 28 October 2010, 12:58 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna has cast its net wide to arrest around 163 leading Tamil traders in Jaffna on charges that they had funded Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the past, Jaffna Traders Association (JTA) circles said. Some of them had been already arrested and detained after being interrogated in the notorious ‘Fourth Floor’ of the SLA Intelligence Wing in Colombo. SLA is engaged in rounding up the prominent Tamil traders claiming that it has evidence of their involvement with LTTE found in the statements of the traders in their detention, the sources added. The real motive behind this move is to cripple the prominent Tamil traders in Jaffna to eliminate them competing with the Sinhala traders who continue to invade Jaffna since the opening of A9 land route, JTA circles said.
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TID arrests DPF trade union secretary

[TamilNet, Sunday, 24 October 2010, 11:36 GMT]
Sri Lanka Terrorist Investigations Department (TID) arrested L. Barathithasan, Trade Union Secretary of the Democratic Peoples Front (DPF) Saturday allegedly for aiding the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. A team of the TID in charge of the Central Province took him to custody and brought him to TID headquarters in Colombo for interrogation, police said.
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SL Parliament extends state of Emergency

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 October 2010, 04:50 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Parliament Tuesday adopted the motion moved by its Prime Minister to extend the state of emergency for another month by ninety votes. 118 parliamentarians of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and its constituent parties voted for the motion. The members of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) voted against the motion. The main opposition United National Party (UNP) parliamentarians abstained from voting. State of emergency is being extended every month by the parliament since August 2005.
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