Opposition parties in Sri Lanka fear election malpractice

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 May 2008, 02:12 GMT]
All activities of the political parties and independent groups contesting the Eastern provincial council elections ended Wednesday midnight, the office of Elections Department (ED) announced Thursday. Meanwhile, expressing fear that Colombo was preparing itself for a large-scale election rigging, UNP parliamentarian Laxman Kiriyelle has accused the Sri Lankan Defence Ministry for its alleged involvement in distributing blank polling cards in the East. It is also alleged that nearly 170,000 polling cards remained stagnant in the post offices without being delivered and these were taken away by the paramilitary Pillayan group.
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Wimal Weerawansa decides to form new party

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 May 2008, 08:28 GMT]
The dissident group of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has decided to form a new political party. The decision was taken at a meeting held on May 1st in Colombo with Wimal Weerawansa, dissident group leader in the chair as the current JVP leadership failed to meet the deadline issued by the rebel group to sort out differences among them before May Day. Ten dissident parliamentarians attended the meeting, reports in Colombo said.
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JVP whips up anti-Indian rhetoric

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 May 2008, 10:11 GMT]
Somawansa Amarasinghe, the leader of the extreme Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which recently suffered a split, has whipped up anti-Indian sentiments in his May Day address calling for protests against what he labeled as 'Indian hegemonic foreign policy'. Stating that Sri Lankan forces 'liberated the East' not for the benefit of Indian geo-political and economic interests, but to resettle 'all ethnic communities' there, he said that the JVP would not allow separation of the country in the name of devolution proposals and proclaimed that the renewed JVP would become the locomotive of the future governance of Sri Lanka.
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UPFA observes May Day in east, UNP prayer at Kelaniya Vihare

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 May 2008, 06:52 GMT]
The May Day of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government led by Mahinda Rajapaksa is being held at Dehiyatttakandiya in Ampaarai district for the first time outside Colombo. Earlier the UPFA decided to hold its May Day rally at Ampaa'rai town. Later it changed the venue to Dehiyattakandiya sans procession due to security reasons, party sources said. The main opposition United National Party (UNP) first decided to hold its May Day rally in Kurunagala town in the northwestern province without procession. Later it canceled the rally and decided to observe prayer at Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihare.
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Rival party would not hinder JVP-Tilvin Silva

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 April 2008, 17:41 GMT]
Tilvin Silva, general secretary of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) said Wednesday the formation of a new political party by dissident group leader, Wimal Weerawanse would not hinder the political programme of the JVP. Tilvin Silva said this at a press briefing in reply to Wimal Weerawanse that he would form a new party after May Day if the current leadership of the JVP fails to sort out intra-party dispute, media sources said.
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JVP secretary lodges complaints of GoSL's abuse of power

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 April 2008, 03:43 GMT]
Tilvin Silva, the General Secretary of Jathika Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) in letter addressed to Dayanantha Dissanayake, the Elections Commissioner (EC), has pointed out the large scale abuses being committed by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) in the East.
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Weerawanse threatens to start new political party

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 April 2008, 18:16 GMT]
Wimal Weerawanse, leader of the dissident group of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) said at a press briefing held Tuesday that he would start a new political party if the current leadership of the JVP fails to bring an amicable solution to the intra-party crisis, media sources said.
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Internal strife forces JVP to abandon May Day procession

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 April 2008, 17:33 GMT]
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has decided not to hold May Day procession this year due to prevailing volatile security situation and internal party squabble. JVP high command however decided to hold a public meeting at Colombo municipal grounds, party sources said.
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Feud erupts between JVP and PNM in south

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 April 2008, 08:45 GMT]
A key leader of the extreme Sinhala nationalist Patriotic National Movement (PNM), Sumith Wanniarachchi has been allegedly assaulted by members of the security unit of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Monday for hosting Wimal Weerawanse, dissident JVP group leader with a tea party, according to a complaint lodged with Walapone Police in Kandy district by Dr.Gunadasa Amarasekara, treasurer of the PNM.
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Court releases Trincomalee JVP parliamentarian on bail

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 April 2008, 08:39 GMT]
Jayantha Wijesekara, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Trincomalee district parliamentarian was released on cash and surety bail by the Colombo Chief Magistrate Monday. He surrendered to the Welikada police on April 11 following a complaint that he had been involved in the hijacking of official vehicles belonged to dissident JVP parliamentarians Piyasiri Wijenaike and Achchala Jagoda from parliamentary complex. He was produced in court and remanded, legal sources said.
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JVP dissident parliamentarians meet Buddhist prelates

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 April 2008, 05:05 GMT]
Eleven dissident parliamentarians of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) led by Wimal Weerawanse Sunday morning paid homage to the Dalada Maligaawa in Kandy, capital of the central province for the first time after the split in the party. Later they met the Mahanayake Thera of Malwatte Chapter and Asgiriya Mahanayake Thera separately and explained their position in the current politics following the split in the JVP, reports from Kandy said.
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JVP parliamentarian further remanded

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 April 2008, 10:41 GMT]
Court ordered Jayantha Wijesekara, Trincomalee district Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) parliamentarian, for further remand till April 21 when he was produced before Colombo Chief Magistrate Thursday morning in connection with the alleged unlawful removal of official vehicles belongs to two dissident MPs of the JVP from the premises of parliamentary complex, legal sources said.
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1342 to contest in Eastern Provincial Council elections

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 April 2008, 17:25 GMT]
1342 candidates representing political parties and independent groups are to contest in the forthcoming Eastern Provincial Council (EPC) in the districts of Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Ampaa’rai. Meanwhile, three nominations in Batticaloa, four in Trincolamalee and seven in Ampaa’rai districts were rejected by the Election Officer while 91 were accepted, sources in Batticaloa said.
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Eastern PC election, another step in Sinhalasisation of East - TNA

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 April 2008, 05:32 GMT]
The Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who has projected himself as an "ultra Sinhala nationalist leader" in all his decisions since taking office in 2005, was going ahead with his agenda of Sinhalasising the Eastern sector of the North-East, the historical habitation of Tamil speaking people, in the guise of development, splitting it into High Security Zones, Industrial Zones and Environmental Zones, after de-merging the North-East, in violation of the Indo-Lanka International Treaty, said R. Sampanthan, the leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentary Group, who issued a statement of principles on Wednesday, clarifying the reasons for boycotting the Eastern PC elections.
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Left parties in UPFA join TNDA to contest east elections

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 March 2008, 14:28 GMT]
Communist Party (CP) of Sri Lanka and Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), constituents of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) led by President Mahinda Rajapakse, and three more political parties in the south, Sri Lanka Mahajana Pakshaya, Democratic Left Front and Desha Vimukthi Janatha Pakshaya have decided to contest the East Provincial Council election in alliance with the recently formed Tamil National Democratic Alliance (TNDA), media sources said. TNDA comprises Peoples Liberation Front of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) and Padmanaba wing of the Eelam Peoples Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF).
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JVP: Sri Lanka moving towards Kosovo-type situation

[TamilNet, Thursday, 27 March 2008, 11:32 GMT]
Comparing the situation in Sri Lanka with the State of Kosovo before it declared independence, Weerawanse, parliamentary group leader the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the general secretary of the National Patriotic Movement at a press briefing held Wednesday said that the situations are similar, and that the damaging report by Ms Louis Arbor, High Commission of the UN Human Rights on Kosovo paved the way for Kosovo independence, media sources said.
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Nominations called for Eastern Province Council elections

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 March 2008, 00:12 GMT]
Representatives of political parties and independent groups have intensified political activities and have taken steps to choose potential candidates after the Elections Department called nominations for the forthcoming Provincial Council elections in the East, sources said. Elections are to be held for the three districts in the east- Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Ampaa’rai, but Dayanantha Dissanayake, the Elections Commissioner (EC), has not yet fixed the date of the elections.
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Eastern Provincial Council Election scheduled for May 10

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 March 2008, 11:03 GMT]
Election for the Eastern Provincial Council (EPC) is to be held 10 May and nominations are to be accepted from 27 March to 3 April, according to a Sri Lanka Government gazette notification published Thursday. This is the first election to take place after NorthEast was demerged on the Supreme Court verdict of 16 October 2006.
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US must rethink its narrow focus on terrorism - Armitage

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 March 2008, 18:15 GMT]
Former deputy secretary of state Richard L. Armitage this week urged sweeping changes to current U.S. foreign policy, arguing that the superpower needs to replace its almost exclusive focus on fighting terrorism with a broader agenda. “If your foreign policy is just organized around the global war on terror, you’re missing the bet. I think a new paradigm will emerge. I don’t know what it will be, but in the interim we need to engage with friends and frankly engage with our enemies. Actually, it might be more important to engage with our enemies,” he told The Washington Diplomat journal.
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Emergency extended in Sri Lanka for another month

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 March 2008, 07:26 GMT]
The Sri Lanka's parliament Wednesday adopted the motion extending the State of Emergency for another month by a majority of 88 votes. 102 parliamentarians voted for the motion and 14 against, parliamentary sources said. Parliamentarians of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) were not present in the parliament when the motion was put to vote.
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