SC holds Helping Hambantota inquiry violates Rajapakse fundamental rights

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 March 2006, 19:42 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Supreme Court Monday held that the fundamental rights of Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse when he was Prime Minister has been violated by causing an inquiry into a complaint by Mr.Kabir Hashim, United National Party (UNP) parliamentarian regarding Helping Hambantota Fund. Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse filed the FR petition citing Mr.Chandra Fernando, Inspector General of Police, Mr. Lionel Fernando, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Criminal Investigation Department-CID) and Mr.Kabir Hashim, respondents, legal sources said.
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Funeral of LTTE cadre held in Alankulam

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 March 2006, 07:46 GMT]
Second Lieutenant Kuylan (Selvarajah Kubendrarajah) of the National Auxiliary Force of the LTTE, who was killed in an ambush by paramilitaries, was buried on Friday amid large gathering of people in Alankulam mausoleum, Sampoor, in the presence of Colonel Sornam, Special Commander of the LTTE in Trincomalee and several other commanders and activists, sources from Trincomalee said.
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Fonseka claims credit for successful ‘retaliations’

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 March 2006, 01:46 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Army commander, Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, has claimed credit for a number of killings and disappearances of Tamil political activists in during the heightened violence in December and January. The Sunday Times quoted him as telling troops: “we bravely faced the situation and retaliated on those who attacked us. Thereafter we took a proactive role by looking for those who attacked us and retaliated in places like Jaffna and Batticaloa.”
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LTTE Sentry Point in Trincomalee ambushed, one dead, two wounded

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 March 2006, 06:03 GMT]
A Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadre was killed and two injured in an attack on the LTTE Forward Defense Line sentry point located in Poonagar in Trincomalee district Thursday around 8 p.m., said LTTE sources in the east. The Tigers charged that the ambushmen had come from the Sri Lanka Army camp in Mahindapura.
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SL Government needs support of JVP, JHU- Rajapakse

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 March 2006, 02:08 GMT]
Support of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) is vital for continued smooth functioning of the Sri Lanka Government, said Sri Lanka's President, Mahinda Rajapakse, speaking at the Gampaha district Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) meeting held in Viyangoda Wednesday afternoon, SLFP sources from Colombo said.
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Sinhala nationalist extremists obstacle to peace – Balasingham

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 March 2006, 20:21 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers will view any further attacks by military-backed paramilitaries as an act of war and may postpone next month’s talks in Geneva unless the state fulfils the Ceasefire Agreement and disarms them, the LTTE’s Political Strategist and Chief Negotiator, Mr. Anton Balasingham said Tuesday. In an interview to Reuters at his London home, Mr. Balasingham also said President Mahinda Rajapakse should dump his Sinhala nationalist allies and seek support from the main opposition UNP party which led a government that held six rounds of talks with the LTTE in 2002-3.
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LTTE hands over arrested home guards to Thamileelam Police

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 March 2006, 01:31 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Tuesday afternoon said at a press briefing held in Sampoor that they have handed over to the Thamileelam Police the two home guards who they arrested on March 14 caught riding in a motorcycle inside the LTTE controlled area, The Thamileelam Court in accordance with the normal procedure could release these two home guards, Mr.Sithik Reseen (23) of Valaichchenai and Mr.Haniffa Anzar (30) of Thoppur, LTTE Trincomalee leaders said at the briefing.
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India assisted Bio Institute opens in Hill-country

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 March 2006, 10:45 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President, Mahinda Rajapakse, Saturday, ceremonially opened a Bio Technology Institute set up under the assistance of an Indian Agricultural expert in Kotagala, press release issued from Colombo said. Leader of Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), Arumugam Thondaman, welcomed Mr Rajapakse and India's High Commissioner, Ms Nirupama Rao to the opening ceremony. The Institute will train rural youths, the release said. Another model farm at Kirindiwela in Gampaha district is already in operation.
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Threats to Vavuniya traders must be stopped, MP tells Rajapakse

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 March 2006, 01:37 GMT]
Mr.Selvam Adaikalanathan, Wanni district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian has appealed to Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse to take immediate steps to disarm persons intimidating members of the business community in Vavuniya district with death threats and extortion, sources in Vavuniya said.
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Rajapakse mulls ditching JVP for UNP - paper

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 March 2006, 07:48 GMT]
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse is considering a national government or a snap general election to move the peace process forward, The Sunday Leader newspaper reported this week, adding a final decision on the two options is to be taken by Rajapakse after the local authority polls on March 30. This entails a tieup between Rajapakse’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the main opposition United National Party (UNP).
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Jaffna DDC meets under heavy security

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 March 2006, 10:53 GMT]
Mr. Douglas Devananda, Minister in the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, and North East Governor Mohan Wijewickrema, retired Rear Admiral of the Sri Lanka Navy, Thursday morning arrived at the Jaffna District Secretariat in a troop carrier of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) for the Jaffna District Development Committee (DDC) meeting held Thursday morning, sources in Jaffna said. The entire surrounding of the secretariat building was fortified with large numbers of troops and armored vehicles, sources added.
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Local elections in NorthEast likely to be postponed

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 March 2006, 10:40 GMT]
A final decision to conduct elections to local government authorities in the North East is to be announced by the Commissioner of Elections this week after consultations with NorthEast district returning officers, political sources in Colombo said. Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse last week agreed in policy to postpone the local elections in the NorthEast local authorities at meeting with a delegation of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) led by its parliamentary group leader Mr.R.Sampanthan, sources added.
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EPDP, Karuna Group and PLOTE amongst paramilitaries - US State Dept

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 March 2006, 01:32 GMT]
Commenting, amongst other abuses, on the numerous killings in Sri Lanka’s northeast last year, the US State Department’s 2006 annual human rights report blamed “paramilitary forces” as well as the Liberation Tigers for “politically motivated killings” and singled out three paramilitary groups – the Karuna Group, EPDP and PLOTE – for criticism. The State Department said many of those killed by the LTTE were members of the anti-LTTE paramilitary groups and informants for the security forces.
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SLN relaxes fishing ban in Thondamannar-VVT seas

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 March 2006, 12:07 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) announced relaxation of restrictions on fishing to the east of Kankesanthurai harbor from Thondamannar to Valvettiturai shores, during a meeting between Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Jaffna representatives, SLN officers and Jaffna Fisheries Union representatives at Chithampara College, Valvettiturai, held around noon Sunday, sources from Jaffna said.
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Amnesty fears for safety of disappeared TRO staffers

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 March 2006, 12:28 GMT]
Amnesty International in an Urgent Action release issued Friday expressed "grave concern" for the safety of the seven Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) staffers who were abducted on 29-30 January and are still missing. Amnesty urged all concerned to write to the Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence, Inspector General of Police and Sri Lanka's President Mr Mahinda Rajapakse to "undertake and complete as a matter of urgency thorough investigations into the fate and whereabouts of the seven," and to ensure safety of all TRO workers and the families of the missing.
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Nuwara Eliya has no Tamil administrative officers- UPF

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 March 2006, 03:09 GMT]
Nuwara Eliya, a district with 80% percent Tamil population, and a district which has the largest concentration of Tamils outside NorthEast, does not have a single Tamil Administrative Officer, said Leader of Upcountry Peoples Front (UPF), Periyasamy Chandrasekaran, in an urgent letter sent to Sri Lanka President, Mahinda Rajapakse, UPF's media co-ordinator said Thursday.
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Prof. Hoole appointed VC of Jaffna Campus

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 March 2006, 12:08 GMT]
Sri Lanka University Grants Commission (UGC) announced Thursday the appointment of Prof. Ratnajeevan Hoole, Professor Peredeniya University and member of (UGC), as the new Vice Chancellor (VC) of Jaffna University by Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse. He will succeed Prof. S. Mohanathas whose tenure expires end of March, education officials said.


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Rural Volunteers Brigade passing out parade held in Eachchilampathu

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 March 2006, 17:23 GMT]
"The Government of Sri Lanka led by President Mahinda Rajapakse is pushing us to the war front to win our rights," said Colonel Sornam, Special Commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) participating as the chief guest after taking salute at the passing out parade of a class of rural volunteers brigade held Tuesday afternoon in the grounds of Eachchilampathu Sri Sembaga Maha Vidiyalayam. The volunteers underwent three months of rigorous military training including handling heavy weapons, LTTE sources said.
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JVP demands expulsion of Norway from peace process

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 March 2006, 09:15 GMT]
Wimal Weerawanse, Propaganda Secretary and Parliamentary Group Leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Permuna (JVP), Sri Lanka's powerful Sinhala nationalist "marxist" party, demanded during Tuesday's parliamentary session that Norway be stripped of its facilitator role in Sri Lanka. Accusing Norway of attempting to hold on to its facilitator role for two more years to provide diplomatic status to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and assisting LTTE towards earning international recognition for its Declaration of Independence (UDI) for Tamil Eelam, the JVP's propaganda secretary demanded immediate expulsion of Norway from the peace process, parliamentary sources said.
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JHU, JVP reject Geneva agreement in All Party Conference

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 March 2006, 11:38 GMT]
Sinhala extremist parties, Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), during the All Party Conference (APC) held Monday at the Old Parliamentary building in Colombo submitted separate memoranda rejecting the agreement made between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers in the talks held in Geneva on 22-23rd February, parlilamentary sources said.
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