Bishop raises concern over education in East

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 September 2006, 20:53 GMT]
Rt.Rev.Dr.Kingsley Swampillai, the Bishop of Trincomalee-Batticaloa diocese, and Thurairatnasingham, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parlimentarian for Trincomalee, brought to the urgent attention of Mr. Mahinda Samarasinghe, the Minister for Diaster Management and Human Rights, the dire state of education of children in several villages in the East, and the difficulties faced by people relocated by war.
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Rajapakse, Wickremasinghe to meet urgently over weekend

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 September 2006, 17:51 GMT]
Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) with his deputy Karu Jayasuriya are scheduled to meet Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse during the weekend probably on Sunday to work-out modalities for a bi-partisan approach to the resolution of ethnic conflict. This is another step following the invitation of the President asking the main opposition to join his government.
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JVP meets SLFP to decide on joining UPFA government

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 September 2006, 17:35 GMT]
Final phase of talks between Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse's Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the main constituent of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and the Sinhala ultra nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), aimed at finding ways to join JVP with the ruling government, took place Friday evening in Colombo.
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UNP to nominate team for talks with Rajapakse Government

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 September 2006, 11:28 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) is likely to nominate a five-member delegation for talks with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the main constituent of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), on the written request of Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse in a bid to reach consensus on the ethnic conflict, political sources in Colombo said.
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Gunmen force Uthayan to carry their statement

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 September 2006, 10:49 GMT]
Gunmen forced their way into the Jaffna offices of the Uthayan newspaper Thursday evening, threatened the staff and handed over a statement to be published in the newspaper, the Free Media Movement (FMM) said Friday. “The armed group had come in motorbikes. This incident took place during the curfew hours in heavily militarised Jaffna,” the FMM said, quoting details from the Managing Director of the newspaper group, Mr. E. Saravanapavan.
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International jurists question Sri Lanka’s moves on NGOs

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 September 2006, 12:42 GMT]
The Commission of Jurists (ICJ) this week raised questions about the sweeping mandate of the Sri Lankan government’s Select Committee to investigate non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to root out activities "inimical to the sovereignty and integrity of Sri Lanka" and "detrimental to the national and social well being of the country", and that adversely affect "national security." The ICJ expression of concern about Sri Lanka’s handling of NGOs comes days after Colombo moved to block the funds of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) under the mandate of investigating terrorism financing – but without charging the TRO or setting out the allegations.
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Rajapakse, Wikremasinghe expected to discuss common agenda

[TamilNet, Monday, 04 September 2006, 12:20 GMT]
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse and Ranil Wickremasinghe, the leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP), are expected to meet coming weekend to hold discussions on Rajapakse's invitation to UNP to join the ruling alliance. The meeting between the two leaders would take place after the conclusion of the annual conventions of the two main political parties Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and UNP, political sources in Colombo said.
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Rajapakse hails Sampoor ‘capture’

[TamilNet, Monday, 04 September 2006, 08:20 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops have advanced into Sampur village in the LTTE-controlled part of the eastern Trincomalee district and are consolidating their positions, the government said Monday in Colombo. LTTE political officials in Trincomalee said fighting was ongoing in the Sampoor region. “This is a severe breach of the ceasefire agreement with the Sri Lankan military taking LTTE-controlled areas,” S. Puleedevan, head of the LTTE peace secretariat, told Reuters. “They are not honoring the ceasefire agreement. They are forcing it to the brink of collapse,” he added. “On our side we are fully committed to it.”
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UNP parliamentary group to meet Monday to discuss President's invitation

[TamilNet, Sunday, 03 September 2006, 10:35 GMT]
The parliamentary group of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) is scheduled to meet Monday evening to take a final decision on matters to be discussed with the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse following the invitation sent by the latter last week to join his United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, political sources said in Colombo.
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Vatican appeals over missing Jaffna priest

[TamilNet, Saturday, 02 September 2006, 03:57 GMT]


The Vatican’s representative to Sri Lanka this week appealed to the humanity of those responsible for the disappearance of a Catholic priest in the northern Jaffna peninsula while Jaffna Bishop Thomas Savundaranayagam said he is yet to get a response to even his second appeal to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaske over Father Jim Brown’s disappearance. The church-run Centre for Peace and Reconciliation (CPR) in Jaffna joined calls for a proper investigation.
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British Tamils protest against Rajapakse’s London visit

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 August 2006, 11:53 GMT]
More than one thousand British Tamils and UK residents, Wednesday held a demonstration in front of the British Parliament in London from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. protesting against the visit of the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse to London, and condemning the Sri Lankan Government for violations of the human rights of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka, the organizers of the rally said.
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Rajapakse seeking UK's help to secure India's support - Norwegian radio

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 August 2006, 09:07 GMT]
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse's meeting Wednesday with British Prime Minister Tony Blair is "presumably an attempt to secure India's support in favour of Sri Lanka's policy" on the ethnic question Norwegian state radio reported, citing Oslo's Special Envoy, Jon Hanssen-Bauer.
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Judicious political pressure saves journalist

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 August 2006, 07:42 GMT]
Political pressure from Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP), parties allied with Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse, including the paramilitary Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) and the timely action by the top leadership of the Asian Broadcasting Coorperation to mobilise political pressure saved the life of Kuruparan Nadarajah, the Tamil news manager of Sooriyan FM, who was being interrogated after being abducted by the Special Counter-terrorism Unit of Sri Lankan military intelligence, sources said.
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‘War not way to peace’ - India

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 August 2006, 04:58 GMT]
As Sri Lanka’s military launched a new offensive against the Liberation Tigers this week, India re-iterated that war was not the way to resolve the island’s conflict. “We do not believe that war is the way out...We do not think violence, whether from LTTE's side or an armed conflict, can resolve any issue,” press reports quoted India’s Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran as saying in Delhi Monday. Meanwhile, The Hindu newspaper reported that, worried over the violence in Sri Lanka, peace-facilitator Norway and India “are engaged in quiet consultations to defuse the situation.”
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Tamil News Manager abducted in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 August 2006, 02:50 GMT]
Nadarajah Kuruparan, News Manager of Sooriyan FM Radio broadcast from Colombo and the programme leader of popular weekly programme, Viluthukal, in Sooriyan FM, is reported missing since Tuesday morning around 4:30 a.m., Dehiwale Police said. Mr. Nadarajah Kuruparan, a senior Tamil news editor, was on his way to work in his car, when he was reported missing 300 meters away from his house, on Pinthali Road. Journalist associations and Free Media Movement in Colombo held an urgent protest calling for the release of Kuruparan in front of Colombo Fort Tuesday from 12:30 p.m. till 13:30 p.m.
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Rajapakse invites UNP as Norway, India meet Wickremesinghe

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 August 2006, 06:43 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse on Friday invited the main opposition United National Party (UNP) to join his government, press reports said Sunday. In a letter to the UNP leadership, President Rajapakse had called on the opposition to join his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) led government so as to resolve the ‘crisis’ in Sri Lanka, The Sunday Leader broadsheet said. Days after two up-country Tamil parties joined the government, President Rajapakse is also courting the main Muslim party, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), the paper added.
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Silent protest in Mannar demanding the release of disappeared Allaipiddy Priest

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 August 2006, 12:40 GMT]
A silent protest march was held Friday morning in Mannar town demanding the release of the disappeared Allaipiddy Parish Priest Rev.Nihal Jim Brown. The march began around 10.15 a.m. from Mannar St.Sebastian Church arrived at Mannar District Secretariat building at about 11 a.m. About six thousand people including the Head of the Mannar Diocese and Parish Priests of Pallimunai and Mannar and other several priests, nuns numbering about seventy five and parliamentarian Mr.Vino Noharathalingam and representatives of EPRLF (Suresh Wing) and TELO and other humanitarian and civil rights' groups participated in the march carrying placards with the photograph of missing priest.
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Sri Lankan C-in-C, Rajapakse or Weerawanse, asks UNP MP

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 August 2006, 11:26 GMT]
UNP Puttalam District parliamentarian Johnston Fernando Thursday told reporters recent developments aimed at motivating armed forces of Sri Lanka had cast doubts on whether the Commander in Chief (C-in-C) of Sri Lanka was Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Propaganda Secretary Wimal Weerawanse or Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse. Wimal Weerawanse's demeanor during his address to the Sri Lankan soldiers in the recent "Manel Mal" (Water Lily) ceremonies was more like a C-in-C than a party secretary, the UNP MP said.
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Thondaman, Chandrasekaran join UPFA government

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 August 2006, 10:13 GMT]
The Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) led by Mr.Arumugan Thondaman and Upcountry Peoples Front (UPF) led by Mr.Periyasamy Chandrasekaran Friday joined the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government led by President Mahinda Rajapakse, political sources said.
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3 Tamil youths abducted in Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 August 2006, 08:50 GMT]
Unidentified men riding in 3 cars abducted three Tamil youths in a lodge on Grandpass Street in Colombo 14, Wednesday, according to the employees at the lodge. The lodge owners have informed their relatives and police about the abduction. The abdoctors had claimed they were taking the youths for interrogation.


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