UNP to reveal its position after UPFA approves Joint Mechanism

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 May 2005, 14:23 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) will make public its position on the Joint Mechanism proposal for a working arrangement with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for post-tsunami rehabilitation of northeast only after United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government approves it with one voice, said Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the UNP and the former Prime Minister addressing a series of meetings in Sri Lanka's South Saturday, sources said. "The UNP will have to carefully study the final JM proposal before taking a public position," he added.
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Wickremesinghe declines SL President's invitation for talks

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 May 2005, 02:00 GMT]
Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) declined the invitation extended by Sri Lanka's President MsChandrika Kumaratunge for a discussion on national issues on Monday. "There is no necessity for such discussion at present," said Mr Wickremasinghe in reply to Ms Kumaratunge, reported the State run Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) in its Saturday morning news bulletin.
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Sivaram funeral cortege leaves Colombo

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 May 2005, 17:19 GMT]
The body of murdered Tamil journalist Sivaram Dharmeratnam was taken from his residence in Colombo at 10pm local time to Batticaloa where his funeral will take place on Monday. The skies opened up momentarily around No.15/4 Mahindarama Road, Ratmalana from where the cortege left with Police escort. The cortege is expected to reach Batticaloa in the early hours of Monday
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Wickremesinghe spends New Year Day with tsunami victims

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 April 2005, 14:10 GMT]
Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, former Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and leader of the opposition, Thursday visited Tangalle, a town in Sri Lanka's South and met with tsunami-affected people, party sources said. Tangalle is one of the coastal areas destroyed by last year December tsunami.


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Tilak Karunaratne withdraws petition against MoU

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 March 2005, 08:27 GMT]
One of the three petitions filed in the Court of Appeal challenging the constitutional validity of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the then Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe and Mr.V.Pirapaharan leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was withdrawn last week, legal sources said.
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Arrest rising chauvinism, extremism, TNA tells Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 March 2005, 12:15 GMT]
Accusing Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister of "inciting the forces of chauvinism and extremism" in Sri Lanka by rushing to describe World Bank official Mr Peter Harrold's statements on Liberation Tigers, without checking their veracity, as "provocative," Mr Sampanthan, parliamentary group leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in his statement in Sri Lanka's parliament on the current political situation, urged the Sri Lanka Government to speak with one voice regarding taking the peace process forward, parliamentary sources in Colombo said.
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Ranil Wickremasinghe leaves for Norway

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 January 2005, 15:35 GMT]
Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the opposition and the United National Party (UNP) Saturday evening left for Norway. Mr.Milinda Morogoda and Mr.T.Maheswaran, former ministers in the then United National Front (UNF) government accompanied him, UNP sources said.
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Annan hails LTTE-led relief efforts

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 January 2005, 05:41 GMT]
UN Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan, hailed the relief efforts led by the Liberation Tigers in the wake of the Asian tsunami of December 26th and expressed his disappointment over the Sri Lankan governments veto of his plans to visit LTTE held areas devastated by the waves, when he met Tamil parliamentarians Sunday.
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Ranil visits Tsunami affected areas in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 January 2005, 09:50 GMT]
Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, former Prime Minister and the leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) paid a visit to Jaffna and witnessed the destruction caused to several coastal villages in the last year Tsunami. He held discussion with local leaders at the office of the Tsunami Disaster Rehabilitation Task Force in Vadamaradchchi division Wednesday afternoon around 1 pm.
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Sri Lanka mourns

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 January 2005, 08:37 GMT]
Sri Lanka observed Friday as a national mourning day to express shock and grief to the deaths due to Sunday's Tsunami that hit the coastal areas in the northeast and the south killing about 30, 000 and rendering around one million homeless. Sri Lanka's National Flag was flown half-mast on government buildings and Thamileelam National Flag was flown half-mast on all political secretariat offices of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the North East, sources said.
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UNP's protest campaign draws 30 000 protestors in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 December 2004, 16:48 GMT]
Around thirty thousand protestors joined in a big protest rally organized by the main opposition United National Party (UNP) in Colombo Tuesday, demanding the release of Mr.S.B.Dissanayake, a UNP parliamentarian who was sentenced to two years rigorous imprisonment by the Supreme Court recently, on being found guilty on contempt charge.
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UNP to oppose SL government budget

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 November 2004, 05:11 GMT]
Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) decided Thursday evening to oppose the maiden budget of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, UNP sources said.
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Ex-Foreign Minister, new Governor for NorthEast?

[TamilNet, Sunday, 14 November 2004, 14:22 GMT]
Mr.Tyronne Fernando, Foreign Minister in the former United National Front (UNF) government, is tipped to be the next Governor of the North East Province replacing Major General (retd) Asoka Jayawardene who is to assume duties as the Secretarary to the Ministry of Defence with effect from December 1, provincial sources said.
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Colombo's peace attempts, ploy to obtain aid funds- Prof Peiris

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 November 2004, 01:36 GMT]
"Sri Lanka President's double-speak is evident from the fact she tells the TNA one thing, and the JVP quite another. Her duplicitous attempts at peace are ploys to obtain aid funds without commencing talks", said Professor G.L.Pieris, who was the Guest speaker at a discussion held in Bright inn Hotel Colombo, Sunday, organized by the Western Province People's Front (WPPF) presided over by its Leader and Parliamentarian, Mano Ganeshan.
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President meets opposition leader

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 02 November 2004, 15:13 GMT]
Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga Tuesday urged opposition leader, Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe to participate in the all party parley to find a solution to end the island's ethnic conflict. Mr. Wickremesinghe and President Kumaratunga met in Colombo for discussions on Tuesday. All the main opposition parties, including the Tamil National Alliance and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress are boycotting the NACPR, charging that it is a time buying ruse by President Kumaratunga.
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Akashi to meet JVP leaders

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 October 2004, 10:37 GMT]
Mr.Yasushi Akashi, Japanese special peace envoy who is scheduled to arrive in Colombo evening has agreed to meet the political leadership of the Sinhala nationalist-Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), major constituent of the United Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, during his seven day stay in Sri Lanka, State run Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) reported in its news bulletin Wednesday.
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Peace trapped in political chess game- paper

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 October 2004, 10:50 GMT]
"Leader of Opposition, Ranil Wickremasinghe, has told the Indian leaders that that United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA). should start talks with the LTTE. In earlier times, it was left to the Tamil leaders to undertake missions to bring pressure to bear on the Sri Lanka Governments. Tables have now turned, giving way to the scenario of one main southern Sri Lanka political camp persuading NewDelhi to pressure the other southern camp to start peace negotiations immediately," said Thinakkural, a popular Tamil daily in its editorial Thursday.
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UNP holds demonstration in Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 September 2004, 23:27 GMT]
United National Party (UNP) parliamentarians, thousands of party cadres and activists joined a mass demonstration to protest against the worsening economic situation under the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government in front of the Colombo Fort railway station for nearly two hours Friday.
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UNP says planning first step to topple Kumaratunge govt

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 September 2004, 13:08 GMT]
The United National Party (UNP) will hold a mass demonstration in Colombo on September 24, Friday, to protest against the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government. UNP MPs Mr. Gamini Lokuge and Dr. Rajitha Senaratne told a press conference in Colombo Tuesday, that the protest would be the first step to topple the UPFA Government, which has not fulfilled its promises to the people.
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ISGA must form basis for talks- UNP

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 September 2004, 14:44 GMT]
Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) Thursday reiterated its stand that the future talks between the United People Freedom Alliance (UPFA) the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) should commence on the basis of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA), said UNP's media spokesman and former minister Professor G.L.Peiris addressing a press briefing in Colombo.
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