SL Police arrests three Tamil teachers in Nuwara Eliya

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 February 2007, 10:48 GMT]
Special police team of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested three Tamil teachers in Ragala in Nuwara Eliya district in the central province Wednesday night, and has taken them to Colombo Thursday for interrogation, upcountry sources said. Police said the three were arrested on information from one of the three Sinhala journalists, arrested earlier in Colombo, on charges of having received arms training from Liberation Tigers.


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SLFP dissidents urge Colombo to prevent Rights abuses

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 February 2007, 04:19 GMT]
Former Sri Lanka's Foreign minister, Mangala Samaraweera, and former Port Development Minister, Sripathi Sooriyaarachchi, on Thursday accused the Mahinda Rajapakse government of alleged human rights violations, and warned that Sri Lanka faced international isolation unless steps were taken to stem the tide of disappearances and extra judicial killings, sources in Colombo said. Addressing a press conference at the Parliamentary complex, Mr. Samaraweera said his concern about the growing human rights violations in Sri Lanka was one of the main reasons that he was sacked by Mr Rajapakse.
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FMM accuses Rajapakse of favoritism, urging self-censorship of NorthEast news

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 February 2007, 12:29 GMT]
Free Media Movement (FMM), a media watchdog based in Colombo, condemned Sri Lanka's President statement that he provided TV licences to JVP for the political support in the presidential election campaign. "Clearly, this nepotism and political favouritism is detrimental to the development of free media," the FMM said in the press release issued Wednesday. FMM also expressed consternation over Mr Rajapakse's criticisms of "Sinhala language weekly Mawbima newspaper for publishing articles that featured interviews with leaders of the LTTE, highlighting the humanitarian crisis in the North and East of Sri Lanka and exposing corruption."
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Rajapakse, Bandaranayake meet to reconcile

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 February 2007, 01:40 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse and Anura Bandaranayake, one of three ministers sacked last week met Wednesday at Temple Trees and talked for about two hours regarding the current political situation. They explored ways to diffuse the tension in the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) following the dismissal of three ministers.
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GoSL’s Rights team visits to assess Jaffna situation

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 February 2007, 15:36 GMT]
"Normalcy is yet to return to Jaffna. The residents are deprived of the freedom of movement, and continue to experience restrictions and difficulties in getting the essential commodities since the closure of the A9 six months ago," said Rt. Rev. Thomas Soundaranayagm, the Bishop of Jaffna, participating in a meeting Wednesday, convened by a team from Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL from Colombo, held in the High Security Zone area in Jaffna town. Minister of Human Rights and Disaster Management, Mr Mahinda Samarasinghe, who led the team said their mandate is to explore means of restoring normalcy to Jaffna and remedy the short comings in the supply of essential commodities.
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JVP to hold public meetings against UPFA government

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 February 2007, 12:31 GMT]
Sri Lanka's extreme Sinhala nationalist, Marxist, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) is to hold a series of meetings southern Sri Lanka condemning the government for abandoning the Mahinda Chinthanaya principles, political sources in Colombo said. The first meeting of this series is to be held on February 15 evening at Nugegoda in Colombo, according to same sources.
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Samaraweera returns from Singapore

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 February 2007, 22:17 GMT]
Mangala Samaraweera who lost his Ministry portfolio when President Mahinda Rajapakse sacked three ministers in his cabinet last Friday, returned Colombo Sunday evening from Singapore, political sources in Colombo said. Mangala Samaraweera was in Singapore when Mr. Rajapakse sacked the dissident ministers who were critical of the Government.
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Sri Lanka President leaves for Maldives

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 February 2007, 12:26 GMT]
Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse left Sunday morning on a three-day official visit to Maldives amid speculation that he would appoint new ministers to fill the vacancies created by the sacking of Anura Bandaranaike, Mangala Samaraweera, Susil Premayanthand Sripathi Sooriyarachchi on his return, sources said.


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SLFP working committee meets

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 February 2007, 07:17 GMT]
Emergency meeting of the working committee of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government has been summoned by President Mahinda Rajapakse, Saturday, following the sacking of three senior ministers of his cabinet. Anura Bandaranaike and Mangala Samaraweera were cabinet rank ministers and Sripathi Sooriyarachchi was non-cabinet rank minister.
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UNP decides to boycott APRC

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 February 2007, 16:20 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) has decided not to participate in the future deliberations of the All Parties Representatives Committee (APRC). This APRC was appointed by the Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse last year to work out a common programme reaching consensus among southern political parties to find a political solution to the Tamil national question through peaceful means.
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Rajapakse sacks dissenting SLFP ministers

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 February 2007, 15:29 GMT]
Shortly after rumblings of discontent amongst the ranks of the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) over the recent admission of opposition MPS into his mammoth cabinet, President Mahinda Rajapakse sacked three of the most vocal dissenters on Friday, Presidential Secretariat officials said. SLFP stalwarts Anura Bandaranaike, Mangala Samaraweera and Sripathi Suriyarachchi were stripped of their portfolios Friday soon after their criticism of the government become public and vocal.
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UN urged not to ignore Rajapakse regime

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 February 2007, 12:58 GMT]
The UN security council working group which is set to study underage recruitment in Sri Lanka later Friday should not ignore the practice of Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse’s regime in the practice, a senior columnist with The Guardian newspaper wrote in Friday’s edition on Guardian's 'Comment is Free' section. And condemning political movements for the violence they turn to, “whilst ignoring their complaints and the degree of support they command leads only to political stalemate and more bloodshed,” Jonathan Steele said in his column. He criticised President Rajapakse for destroying the 2002 truce by trying to reoccupy the areas recognised as under Tiger control.
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No confidence on Police inquiry - SL Minister

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 February 2007, 10:49 GMT]
Anura Bandaranaike, the Sri Lankan Minister of National Heritage, in a Question of Privilege, raised in the Sri Lankan Parliament Thursday, charged that there were "forces within the government," surrounding the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, conspiring against Bandaranaike family. Mr. Bandaranaike, who did not directly point the finger at the Sri Lankan President, said some persons close to Mr. Rajapakse, with "American passports" were behind the death threats issued against him and Mangala Samaraweera, the minister of ports and aviation. He further told the Lankan parliament that he had no confidence that the police would hold proper inquiry into his complaint.
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Priest killed in Santhiveli

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 February 2007, 08:08 GMT]
A Hindu priest who had been forcefully taken to Vaharai from Santhiveli by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to garland the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse during his visit to Vaharai last Saturday, was shot and killed by armed men who are allegedly attached to SLA military intelligence, Wednesday around 8:15 p.m. near his house a few meters away from the SLA camp at Santhiveli, 36 km south of Vaharai.
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Trapped Vanni school teachers to be employed in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 February 2007, 00:02 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Commander for Jaffna, Major Gen. G. S. Chandrasri, told the teachers of Vanni schools, trapped in Jaffna peninsula due to SLA closure of the A9 route in August 2006, that they will receive temporary assignments to teach peninsula schools. Major Gen Chandrasri met with nearly half of the 700 stranded teachers at a special centre at Kattuvan, located close to Palaly Military Base, around 7:00 p.m Monday, education officials in Jaffna said.
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Anura Bandaranaike receives death threat

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 February 2007, 12:13 GMT]
Anura Bandaranaike, the Sri Lankan minister of National Heritage, and the brother of former SL President Chandrika Kumaratunga, has complained to law enforcement authorities in Colombo that he has received telephone death threats from anonymous callers. The threats are reported amidst speculation that relationship between Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse and Anura Bandaranaike has been severely strained since the latest cabinet reshuffle when Mr. Bandaranaike lost his Tourism Ministry portfolio.
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Dissident MPs abstain from UNP Working Committee meeting

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 February 2007, 01:12 GMT]
Dissident parliamentarians of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) who joined the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government led by Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse last week and accepted minister posts, did not attend the 76-member working committee of the UNP held Tuesday evening at party headquarters "Sri Kotha" in Colombo, UNP sources said.
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Commotion over seat allocation in SL Parliament

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 February 2007, 09:50 GMT]
Commotion prevailed in the Sri Lankan parliament when it resumed its sittings on Tuesday morning over the allocation of seats to ministers after the major reshuffle following new political alignment with dissident group of parliamentarians, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), all monks' political party. "Those who worked hard for the victory of President Mahinda Rajapakse in the last presidential election are allocated seats in the back rows and those worked against him are given seats in the first row," charged Wimal Weerawanse, the Propaganda Secretary of the JVP.
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Ranil: SLFP-UNP pact over, dark times ahead

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 February 2007, 09:39 GMT]
Addressing the new session of Parliament, leader of the opposition United National Party (UNP), Ranil Wickremsinghe, slammed President Mahinda Rajapakse for accepting the cross over of 19 UNP lawmakers to government ranks. Mr. Wickremsinghe said the move had led to the “dissolution” of the Memorandum of Understanding between the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the UNP. “The UNP thus finds it impossible to work with the government in finding a solution to the issues referred to in the MOU,” he said. Among the issues are a bi-partisan approach to ending Sri Lanka’s civil war.
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SL parliament to meet Tuesday amid tension

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 February 2007, 02:23 GMT]
Sri Lanka parliament meets Tuesday amid unease among a section of parliamentarians of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government over the allocation of ministries in the cabinet reshuffle that took place last week, parliamentary sources said.


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