Japan to provide tsunami early-warning system to Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 February 2005, 10:58 GMT]
The government of Japan, the largest donor country to Sri Lanka, has agreed to a request made by President Chandrika Kumaratunga to provide with the technical assistance to set up a tsunami early-warning system here as soon as possible. Visiting Senior Vice-Minister Foreign Minister for Japan, Shuzen Tanigawa, reveled this at a press conference held at the Hilton Hotel on Tuesday at the end of his fact finding mission in Sri Lanka. "President Chandrika Kumaratunga has asked for Japanese assistance to set up a tsunami early-warning system. But it depends on the government of Sri Lanka's ability to absorb it," Minister Tanigawa said.
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Dissanayake's Rights violated, UNP to petition UN

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 January 2005, 15:51 GMT]
"Mr. S.B.Dissanayake is entitled to his salary as a parliamentarian and according to the section 89 of the constitution. The sentence of the courts does not deprive him of the seat in Parliament. The judgement is undemocratic and illegal," said Prof G L Peiris, United National Party (UNP) parliamentarian and former Minister of Constitutional Affairs, addressing a media conference held Friday at the opposition leader's office. Prof Peiris added that they were preparing a petition to be submitted to the UN regarding Mr. Dissanayake's violation of freedom of expression.
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Japanese, Dutch Foreign Ministers to visit Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 January 2005, 20:10 GMT]
Mr. Shuzen Tanigawa, Senior Vice Foreign Affairs Minister of the Government of Japan is to arrive in Colombo Saturday evening on a three-day visit and Mr.Bernard Bot, Netherlands Foreign Affairs Minister will arrive in Colombo February 3rd, diplomatic sources said.
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Sea Black Tiger died in Tsunami remembered

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 January 2005, 16:01 GMT]
The remembrance event of Major Elilarasan (Nagendran Amuthan), a Sea Black Tiger of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who died in Mullaitivu in December 26 Tsunami disaster was held in his native place in LTTE held Eachchilampathu and later his photograph was taken in a procession through the government controlled area via Mahindapura army check point, Killiveddi and Kaddaiparichchan army camp to LTTE controlled Muttur east. At the conclusion a memorial plaque was laid in Sampoor war cemetery, sources said.
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Canadian PM arrives in Colombo to support tsunami relief

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 January 2005, 14:23 GMT]
Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin arrived in Colombo on Sunday evening for a two day visit to the country. Sri Lanka's Deputy Foreign Minister Lakshman Kiriella welcomed him at the Katunayake international airport. Officials from the Foreign ministry were also present at the welcome, sources in Colombo said.
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International Red Cross President meets Prime Minister

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 January 2005, 11:11 GMT]
Mr.Juan Manuel Suarez Del Toro Rivero, President of International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) Monday paid courtesy call on Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse at the latter's official residence Temple Trees. Mr.Juan Manuel Suarez del Toro Rivero who is currently in the island meeting with Red Cross officials and reviewing ongoing Tsunami relief and assistance programmes.
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Colombo blocks Kofi Annan from touring LTTE held areas - UN officials

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 January 2005, 10:46 GMT]
Sri Lanka's government has stopped visiting U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan from touring tsunami-ravaged areas controlled by the LTTE, despite his requests, a Reuters report filed from Hambantota said. Annan was quoted as saying: "I am here on a humanitarian mission. I would like to visit all the areas, but as you know I am here as a guest of the government and they set the itinerary". UN officials told Reuters that they had been striving to convince the government, but to no avail. "It is a relief visit, not a political one. The secretary general wanted to go, but it just didn't happen," said one official on condition of anonymity to Reuters.
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Powell and Lee see damages in the South

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 January 2005, 08:38 GMT]
US Secretary of State Colin Powell and South Korean Prime Minister Lee Hae-Chan arrived in Sri Lanka Friday morning and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is reaching Sri Lanka Friday afternoon. Colin Powell, upon his arrival, boarded on a helicopter to tsunami ravaged Southern harbour city Galle where US marines are stationed, a US embassy official said. Powell will be meeting President Chandrika Kumaratunga Friday. Powell is scheduled to leave to Nairobi later on Friday, sources said.
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Irate Tsunami refugees jeer PM, JVP in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 December 2004, 13:04 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksha and leaders of the Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna visited Jaffna Thursday amidst strong protests by refugees from the Tsunami destroyed coastal villages of the peninsula. Jeering refugees, demanding relief from Colombo, got into a tussle with the PM’s delegation at the Puloly American Mission School near Pt. Pedro. Earlier, the PM and his entourage were turned back by refugees in Valvettithurai protesting against Colombo for not sending relief or medicine to them since the Tsunami devastated their villages four days ago.
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Tsunami death toll expected to increase

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 December 2004, 17:10 GMT]
Around 3100 persons in Northeast and 1400 in South have died due to tsunami waves that hit NorthEast coast Sunday, according to government sources in Colombo. In the Northeast alone, nearly 12000 people have suffered injuries and around 200,000 people have been affected, administrative sources in Colombo said. Government sources added that death toll is expected to rise significantly. In the meantime, Tamil National Alliance (TNA)parliamentarian Mr. Joseph Pararajasingam has urged the Prime Minister Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksha, to attend to immediate needs of the affected public in the east.
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Japanese poltician to visit Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 December 2004, 05:39 GMT]
Mr.Keishiro Fukushima, Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Japan, will be in Sri Lanka on a four day visit from 25th to 28th December 2004. Mr. Fukushima is a member of the House of Councillors under the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), a press release by the Japanese Embassy in Colombo said Wednesday.


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"Army harasses LTTE political activists in Trinco" - Elilan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 December 2004, 20:54 GMT]
"Sri Lankan Army soldiers are engaged in a planned way to disrupt our political activities in the Trincomalee district", Trincomalee district political head of the LTTE, Mr. S. Elilan, told TamilNet Wednesday from Eachchilampathu by telephone. He said that he and his group were delayed more than three hours at the Kaddaiparichchan Sri Lankan Army (SLA) checkpoint when they were on their way to LTTE controlled Muttur east Saturday. They were again stopped at Mahinthapura SLA checkpoint Wednesday, he said.
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Fracas in Sri Lanka Parliament over jailed minister

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 December 2004, 13:22 GMT]
MPs exchanged blows and the Sri Lankan Parliament's Sergeant-at-Arms was manhandled Wednesday as opposition United National Party protested in the house against the arrest of former minister minister, Mr. S. B Dissanayaka.
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Sri Lanka is drifting towards war- Wickremesinghe

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 December 2004, 12:20 GMT]
"The United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government has not taken any forward looking steps towards peace talks or to finding a solution to our pressing national question. Sri Lanka is inexorably drifting towards war with the continued stalemate in peace talks," said Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe, former Prime Minister and leader of the opposition United National Party (UNP) at the 50th year annual convention of UNP held at the Colombo Municipal grounds Sunday morning.
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Muzzling Parliamentary Speech will further estrangement- Premachandran

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 December 2004, 12:18 GMT]
''Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MPs participate in the Parliamentary procedures only because of their desire to promote amity between the two polarized peoples in Sri Lanka. But if the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and the opposition United National Party (UNP) members join forces to restrain free speech then it will be another step towards encouraging division of Sri Lanka,'' said Suresh Premachandran responding to attempts to curb privileges of TNA MPs in Sri Lanka's Parliament Wednesday, parliamentary sources in Colombo said.
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UNP protests against UPFA's budget

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 December 2004, 11:49 GMT]
Hundreds of supporters of United National Party (UNP) and many of its senior parliamentarians held a protest march against the Sri Lanka's budget, the price increases of essential goods and the increase of an hour in the working day, sources from Colombo said. The protest march started from Rajagiriya junction and moved towards the parliament square.
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SLA, LTTE meet in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 November 2004, 16:05 GMT]
Delegations of the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Friday held discussions in the presence of the Head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Major General (retd) Trond Furuhovde, exploring ways to curb violence in Vavuniya. The Parties agreed to strengthen the dialogue prevent future incidents and to facilitate confidence-building between the parties, according to the joint statement released after the meeting.


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Pakistan, Sri Lanka discuss defence

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 November 2004, 18:10 GMT]
Sri Lanka and Pakistan agreed to further strengthen their traditional cooperation in defence during high level talks between visiting Pak premier and President Kumaratunga on Sunday. Both sides agreed to review the defence credit line of US $ 20 million ''with a view to its operationalization.'' President Kumaratunga accepted an invitation by Pakistan to visit the country early next year, according to a press note by the Sri Lankan govt.
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Pak PM to discuss trade, regional security

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 November 2004, 13:26 GMT]
The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Shaukat Aziz, is scheduled to arrive in Colombo on Sunday 21 November on a two-day visit. He will mainly hold talks on a free trade agreement between Sri Lanka and Pakistan. A press note issued by the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo Saturday noted that the Pakistan PM's discussions with his counterpart in Colombo "will also focus on enhancing trade as the current trade volume neither reflects the warm political relations between the two governments nor does it match the aspirations of the people".


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"Collective Agreement, a violation of democracy"

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 November 2004, 11:36 GMT]
The President of the Kandy Human Development Organisation (HDO), Mr. P.P. Sivapragasam, said at a media conference held at the Brighton Hotel, Colombo Monday that the Collective Agreement (CA) entered into between the Employers' Federation and some Trade Unions on wage increase to the Plantation workers, was a violation of democracy.
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