India sees "internal processes" producing solution

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 December 2005, 17:51 GMT]
Commenting on Sri Lanka’s conflict and peace process, India said Thursday it "believes that an enduring solution can only emerge essentially through internal political processes." In a joint statement issued by both countries on the occasion of Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera’s visit to Delhi, the Indian government said it “continues to maintain an abiding interest in the security of Sri Lanka and remains committed to its sovereignty and territorial integrity."
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SLMM Head meets Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 December 2005, 12:52 GMT]
Head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Mr. Hagrup Haukland, met with Head of Liberation Tigers Political Wing, S.P. Thamilchelvan, in Kilinochchi LTTE Peace Secretariat building Thursday at 2.30 p.m., sources in Kilinochchi said.
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ICJ raises concern over ASIO raids in Melbourne

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 November 2005, 03:16 GMT]
International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), an international non-governmental organization devoted to the promotion of the understanding and observance of the rule of law, expressed concern over the raids by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) on the homes of Sri Lankan Tamils and said Sunday that "counter-terrorism laws may ensnare innocent charitable donors in their net, and may be used by foreign governments to pursue their own political agendas," in a media release issued in Sydney.
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Recovery efforts should not exacerbate existing inequities - Clinton

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 November 2005, 15:40 GMT]
UN Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery and former US President, Bill Clinton, who is currently in Sri Lanka on the eve of tsunami anniversary to assess rebuilding and recovery progress, said in Colombo Tuesday that post-tsunami recovery effort should not exacerbate existing inequities. "Building better roads and schools is essential, but it is not enough. We need to ensure that all people in Sri Lanka are on their way to a better and safer development path than they were prior to this tragedy," Mr. Clinton said during his third visit to Sri Lanka.
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ITRO responds to allegations by SL Highcommission in Australia

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 November 2005, 11:47 GMT]
The International Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (ITRO London), the representative body of the overseas offices of the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation, in a letter addressed to Mr. Asoka Girihagama, the deputy high commissioner of Sri Lanka in Australia, requested to provide details of the grounds for his recent allegations in Australian media that the TRO Australia had allocated Tsunami relief and rehabilitation funds to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
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Clinton meets SL President

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 November 2005, 11:43 GMT]
The former President of the US and UN special envoy on tsunami relief, Bill Clinton, currently in Sri Lanka as part of his his tour to South Asian countries, met with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa Tuesday at 11.20 a.m. at Sri Lanka Presidential residence, Temple trees, Colombo, sources said.


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Colombo to continue to maintain CFA with LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 November 2005, 16:24 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse Monday explained his future peace plans with the Colombo-based diplomatic community where he said that his new government will continue to observe the ceasefire agreement with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. In his address, the Sri Lankan President told the diplomatic community that he welcomed the remarks made by the LTTE leader Mr. V. Pirapaharan in his annual Maveerar Day speech and reiterated his invitation to the Tigers for fresh talks, a statement from the SL President's office said. The statement said Mr. Rajapaske wanted to "review" the "operation" of the ceasefire.
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Clinton arrives in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 November 2005, 14:12 GMT]
The former President of the US and the UN special envoy on tsunami relief, Bill Clinton, arrived in Colombo at 2.30 pm today. He was received at the newly refurbished Bandaranaike International Airport by Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera and UN officials in Colombo.
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LTTE to intensify struggle for self-determination if reasonable political solution is not offered soon

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 November 2005, 12:04 GMT]
The leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in his annual Heroes’ Day statement made an urgent appeal to the new Sri Lanka Government of Mr Mahinda Rajapakse to offer a reasonable political solution to the ethnic conflict without further delay. The Tamil Tiger leader cautioned the government that his liberation organisation would intensify the struggle for self-determination and political independence if the new regime adopts a hard-line position and fails to resolve the problems of his people.
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Fonseka is new Army Commander

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 November 2005, 20:39 GMT]
Major General Sarath Fonseka, to be promoted Lieutenant General, will be Sri Lanka's new Commander of the Army, The Sunday Times reported this week. Lt. Gen. Foneseka will become the 17th Commander of the Army and will succeed Lt. Gen. Shantha Kottegoda, against whom he had unsuccessfully competed for the post in 2003.
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Eye of the storm?

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 November 2005, 08:31 GMT]
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse’s first address to his Parliament had been keenly, albeit warily, anticipated by those concerned about the peace process. Elected on a hardline nationalist platform (and having easily drawn the majority of Sinhala votes), Rajapakse’s speech curiously received the press coverage of a pro-peace candidate: that he wanted to hold "direct" talks with the Liberation Tigers. But peace advocates paying close attention to his policy statement would have been thoroughly alarmed.
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Sovereignty fears

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 November 2005, 01:33 GMT]
The definition "supreme authority within a territory," captures the essential notion of sovereignty used to describe political authority of modern nation states. The origins of Sri Lanka’s long festering conflict lie in its unitary constitution which vests the exercise of sovereignty solely in the hands of Sinhala Buddhists. But Colombo wields no sovereign authority over nearly seventy percent of the island’s NorthEast. Radical Sinhala groups view the denial of their state’s sovereignty in areas controlled by the Liberation Tigers with extreme chagrin. Over the years, other events too have challenged Sri Lanka’s sovereignty.
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Rajapakse rejects Tamil Homeland, Right to Self determination

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 November 2005, 11:44 GMT]
Rejecting the Tamil demand of right to self determination and the concept of traditional Tamil homeland, Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse in his first address to the Parliament in Colombo Friday avoided reference to Norwegian facilitation and reiterated his hardline stand outlined in the "Mahinda Thinking" election manifesto prepared following his agreement with extreme Sinhala nationalist JVP and JHU. Nullifying the P-TOMS agreement, he said he would replace it with "Jaya Lanka" (Victory to Lanka) tsunami reconstruction programme. His "new peace process" would aim to have direct talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), he said.
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Rajapakse to deliver vital policy speech Friday

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 November 2005, 17:03 GMT]
Newly elected Sri Lankan President Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse is set to deliver his first speech at the Lankan Parliament Friday where he is also expected to express his stand on the ethnic crisis, the Norwegian facilitation, economic policy and his foreign policy. A motion on re-imposing Emergency Regulations is also expected to be tabled in the Parliament Friday.
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Don't seek Norwegian assistance, JVP tells Rajapakse

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 November 2005, 16:22 GMT]
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the Sinhala extreme nationalist party, Thursday said it would firmly oppose Sri Lankan President Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse seeking assistance from the Norwegian Government to facilitate in the peace process between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL). Mr. Somawanse Amarasinghe, the leader of the JVP reiterated his party's position at a press briefing held at the National Library auditorium in Colombo.
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Udathalawinne case concludes, Court's decision in January

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 November 2005, 18:06 GMT]
The High Court Trial-at-Bar inquiry into the Udathalawinne massacre case in which General Anurudha Ratwatte, former Deputy Defense Minister, his two sons, Rohan and Chanuka, and thirteen Sri Lanka Army soldiers have been indicted on seventy two counts, including election violence, grabbing ballot papers and ballot boxes, conspiracy to murder and committing the murder of ten Muslim youths on the general election day on December 5, 2001 at Udathalawinne in Kandy district concluded Monday. Three-member bench of the Colombo High Court reserved its order for 20th January 2006, legal sources said.
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Military parade for Kumaratunge postponed

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 November 2005, 14:32 GMT]
A farewell military parade by all three armed forces to the outgoing Sri Lanka President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge has been postponed indefinitely as heavy rains flooded the main parade field of the army head quarters, military sources said.
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Mangala Samaraweera appointed new SL Foreign Minister

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 November 2005, 07:22 GMT]
Sri Lanka's new President Mahinda Rajapakse has demoted former President Chandrika Kumaratunga's brother, Mr. Anura Bandaranaike, by removing the Foreign Ministry portfolio from him and appointing him as the Minister of Tourism in his new 25-member cabinet. Chief coordinator of Mr. Rajapakse's Presidential Campaign, Mangala Samaraweera, a JVP-friendly hardliner, has been appointed as the Foreign Minister, in addition to his portfolios, Ports and Aviation. The twice postponed- swearing in of the new cabinet of ministers took place at the Presidential Secretariat Wednesday. Rajapakse is likely to keep with him the Finance and Defence Ministries.
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Wickremasinghe expresses desire to lead UNP

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 November 2005, 17:41 GMT]
Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, Leader of the Opposition and the President of the United National Party (UNP) is reported to have told a group of UNP parliamentarians about his intention of continuing to remain as UNP's leader. He expressed his desire following appeals made by majority parliamentarians, political sources said.
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Sri Lanka, a divided nation

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 November 2005, 02:21 GMT]
Predicting that if parliamentary elections were held and the LTTE encouraged Tamils to vote, the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) will likely lose the elections, and the United National Party (UNP) wll be able to form a coalition government with the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Robert C Oberst, Professor of Political Science at Nebraska Wesleyan University says Sri Lanka remains a divided nation, divided, not only between the Tamils, Sinhalese and Muslims, but also divided among the Sinhalese. He adds that renegade LTTE commander, Mr. Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan (Karuna), is the biggest loser in the elections.
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