UNP to hold 120 rallies after nomination day

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 October 2005, 12:30 GMT]
The United National Party (UNP) is planning to hold one hundred and twenty propaganda in support of its presidential candidate Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe between November 7 and November 15, two days ahead of the presidential poll scheduled to be held on November 17. The first meeting is be held in Kandy on November 8, UNP Deputy general Secretary Mr.Tissa Attanayake said.


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UNP manifesto promises to End Separatism

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 September 2005, 10:53 GMT]
Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, United National Party (UNP) presidential candidate and the Opposition Leader Tuesday morning officially released his forty-page manifesto for the forthcoming presidential poll at an event held at the UNP headquarters Sri Kotha with the participation of party senior leaders including Mr.Karu Jayasuriya, and Mr.Malik Samarawickrema, sources said.


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SL Presidential elections to be held on November 17

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 September 2005, 12:11 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Presidential election is fixed for 17th November, 2005. The announcement was made by the Commissioner of Elections, Dayananda Dissanayake, Monday. The nominations will be accepted before the 7th of October. In the forthcoming elections, 13.3 million Sri Lankans will be eligible to vote, as reported by the elections department. There will be 60,000 policemen on duty, island-wide. The exercise will cost Rs. 90 million.


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Peace approach should transcend party politics- paper

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 September 2005, 16:59 GMT]
"The peace process requires an approach that transcends narrow and warped ambitions of party politics. The two Presidential candiates, Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa and Opposition leader Ranil Wickramesinghe, must refrain from making the peace process an issue at the forthcoming Presidential elections," said an editorial of Thinakkural, a popular Tamil daily in its Thursday edition.


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JVP announces conditional support to Rajapakse

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 September 2005, 07:20 GMT]
The Sinhala extreme nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna on Monday announced its conditional support to Sri Lankan PM and the presidential candidate Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse with twelve demands. The main demands put forward by the JVP were: nullify P-TOMS, commitment to unitary state, revise the February 2002 Cease Fire Agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and review the Norwegian role in the peace process. The JVP announced its conditional support to Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse Monday morning in a press conference held at National Library in Colombo. According to JVP, a "policy agreement" was already reached between Mr. Rajapakse and the JVP.
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UNP to hold 140 presidential election rallies

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 September 2005, 17:41 GMT]
Sri Lanka's main opposition, the United National Party (UNP) is to hold one hundred election rallies in support of its presidential candidate Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe. Twenty of the rallies will be held before the nomination date, party sources said.
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CWC to decide its stand on presidential election Monday

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 September 2005, 17:23 GMT]
The politburo of the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), a constituent of the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government will meet Monday evening at its headquarters, 'Soumiyamoorthy Bawan' to decide its strategy in the forthcoming presidential election, party sources said.
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JVP, JHU to outline their strategy for Presidential election next week

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 August 2005, 14:51 GMT]
The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), all monks' party, and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Sinhala nationalist-cum-Marxist party, are to announce their decision during the first week of September whether to field their own candidates or to support one of the two main political parties in the forthcoming presidential election widely expected to be held in November second week, political sources said.
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SL presidential election dates to be announced next week

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 August 2005, 16:30 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Election Commissioner Mr.Dayananda Dissanayake Friday resumed discussions with his officials to prepare for the next presidential election, which is to be held before the end of this year according to the ruling of the Supreme Court delivered Friday morning. The Commissioner of Elections is expected to announce the dates of nomination and the polling before the end of August, commission sources said.
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SC begins inquiry into presidential controversy

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 August 2005, 06:10 GMT]
Sri Lanka's two main political parties, the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the main opposition United National Party (UNP) are scheduled to inaugurate their presidential election campaigns this week in Colombo, expecting that the 5-member bench of the Supreme Court would decide in favor of such election should be held this year.
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Rights group questions Colombo's bonafides in imposing ER

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 August 2005, 13:01 GMT]
Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) based in New Delhi issued a press release Saturday saying, "the declaration of a state of national emergency does not make Sri Lankan government look more committed to nab the criminals but fraud with dangerous repercussions for civil liberties," following the assassination of Mr Lakshman Kadirgamar, further expressed its concerns on "the declaration of a state of emergency in Sri Lanka under slightest pretexts in clear violations of the obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Sri Lanka is a ratifying party."
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Presidential election controversy goes to court

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 July 2005, 15:46 GMT]
Mr.Dharmadasa Gomes, Attorney-at-Law Friday filed a petition in the Court of Appeal to order the Commissioner of Elections to declare the date of the Sri Lankan Presidential election citing Commissioner of Elections Mr.Dayananda Dissanayake, and Attorney General Mr.K.C.Kamalasbaeyson, as respondents, state run Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation reported in its Friday night news bulletin quoting legal sources.
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Tamil convention demands immediate withdrawal of SL military

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 July 2005, 14:45 GMT]
Proclaiming that an environment must be created to enable Tamils to decide their political destiny, the Tamil National Resurgence Convention held in Vavuniya, demanded that the occupying Sinhala forces must vacate the land and seas of the NorthEast with immediate effect. The proclamation concluded urging the International Community to recognise the "basic rights and life of freedom with peace on the basis of our traditional homeland, our nationhood and self rule and struggle for sovereignty."


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SLFP to announce candidate for SL Presidency

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 July 2005, 04:18 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Ms.Chandrika Kumaratunge is likely to announce the names of candidates for President of Sri Lanka and the post of Prime Minister of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) at the central working committee of the SLFP which is scheduled to be held on Thursday or Friday, government sources said.
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UNP's foot march continues for second day

[TamilNet, Sunday, 03 July 2005, 11:52 GMT]
162 km long foot march organized by the main opposition United National Party (UNP), which began Saturday morning from the Vishnu Shrine, Dondra head in south of Sri Lanka, arrived Koggala Sunday evening. UNP organized the march called "Peoples Power Movement " demanding that Presidential election must be held in 2005. Protesters also demanded that the United Peoples Front Alliance government must reduce the cost of living. The first phase started from Dondra and concluded at Mirrisa from where the second phase started Sunday morning.
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JVP to take legal action against P-TOMS

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 June 2005, 09:11 GMT]
"We contemplate to take legal action against the Joint Mechanism agreement as it is signed violating the constitution of the country", said Mr.Wimal Weeravanse, parliamentary group leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) at a press briefing held in the Committee Room of the parliamentary complex held Friday, sources said.
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TNA, UNP discuss aid deal

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 June 2005, 17:15 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Sunday appealed to the main opposition United National Party (UNP) to openly declare its full support to the joint mechanism proposal and to insist that the Sri Lanka Government sign the agreement before tabling it in the parliament. TNA parliamentary delegation led by its leader Mr.R.Sampanthan met with Opposition Leader Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, Sunday afternoon and held discussions regarding the current political crisis following the withdrawal of the Sinhala Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) from the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, TNA sources said.
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Indian FM Natwar Singh arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 June 2005, 13:22 GMT]
Mr. K.Natwar Singh, Indian External Affairs Minister, arrived in Colombo Thursday evening to attend the sixth session of the Indo-Sri Lanka Joint Commission scheduled to begin Friday. He told the press at the airport on his arrival that diplomatic relations between India and Sri Lanka will play a vital role in strengthening regional peace and stability.
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Attorney General files plaint in Buddha statue case

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 June 2005, 00:05 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Attorney General (AG) Tuesday filed plaint seeking the Trincomalee District Court Judge Mr.S.Thiagendran to declare the construction of the Buddha statue on the State land as unlawful and to issue enjoining order preventing the accused party from making further improvement, alteration and building any new additions in the disputed land till the matter is resolved by the court, legal sources said.
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Five member SC bench to hear dissident SLMC MPs' petitions

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 May 2005, 17:23 GMT]
Five-member bench of the Supreme Court will hear the petitions filed by dissident Sri Lankan Muslim Congress (SLMC) parliamentarians Mr.Ameer Ali, Mr.Rishard Badiudin, Mr.Najeeb Abdul Majeed and Mr.Mohamed Hussein Baila against their expulsion from the SLMC. The inquiry into these petitions has been fixed for May 30th and 31st, legal sources said.


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