Sri Lanka’s PM says executive presidency will be abolished

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 April 2004, 21:19 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s newly appointed Prime Minister, Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse, said Wednesday that he would work to change the constitution and abolish the executive presidency within four months as promised in his party’s election manifesto, and that he would bring the President under parliament, sources in Colombo said.
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Sri Lanka's President meets outgoing PM

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 April 2004, 16:15 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, and former Prime Minister, Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, held talks Wednesday that lasted for about two hours at the President's House. The talks centred on various subjects including the resumption of peace talks with the Liberation Tigers (LTTE), informed sources said.


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Sri Lanka's PM delays naming cabinet

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 April 2004, 10:17 GMT]
Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse, Sri Lanka's new Prime Minister of the minority government postponed the naming of his new cabinet to either Thursday or Friday, foreign news agencies reported from Colombo. The cabinet was earlier expected to be sworn in on Wednesday.
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"First priority is to obtain majority in parliament"- PM

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 April 2004, 10:40 GMT]
"My first priority is to secure a majority for my government in the parliament," said Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse soon after he assumed office as Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Tuesday morning. When he met the press after swearing in, he declined to reveal the details of which minority parties he is likely to woo to join the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) to obtain a majority in the parliament.
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Sri Lanka's 14th Prime Minister Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 April 2004, 05:20 GMT]
Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse Tuesday morning was sworn in as the Sri Lanka's fourteenth Prime Minister. President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge administered the oath of secrecy to the new Prime Minister at an event held in the Presidential Secretariat, Presidential secretariat sources said.
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UPFA said divided over selection of new Prime Minister

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 April 2004, 16:08 GMT]
Sri Lanka President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge Monday put off the naming of a new Prime Minister of the thirteenth parliament for Tuesday due to the differences of opinion prevailing among the leaders of constituent parties of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA). The meeting of the UPFA leaders held Monday concluded without coming to a unanimous decision on the Prime Minister nominee, political sources said. Wire reports said later, however, that Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse, the opposition leader in the previous parliament, had been chosen as the new PM.
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Sri Lanka’s new PM, Cabinet to be appointed Monday

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 April 2004, 17:44 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s new Prime Minister of the thirteenth parliament is to be sworn in on Monday. The new cabinet of ministers is also expected to take oaths on the same day. Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge is expected to invite the leader of the political party that has got highest number of seats in the Friday poll, the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), to form the government, Presidential secretariat sources said.


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80% vote in Trinco clustered booths

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 April 2004, 18:00 GMT]
About ninety percent voters in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam controlled areas in the Trincomalee district exercised their votes in the general election that concluded Friday evening 4 p.m. "Across Trincomalee seventy two percent voters exercised their franchise," said the Trincomalee District Returning Officer Mr. Gamini Rodrigo said Friday evening.


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Brisk polling reported in Trincomalee district

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 April 2004, 07:24 GMT]
Brisk polling is reported from the clustered polling stations, which are located in Kattaiparichchan, and Mahindapura for voters residing the LTTE controlled Muttur east villages and Eachilampathu division in the Trincomalee district. Trincomalee District Returning Officer Mr. Gamini Rodrigo Friday noon said about seventy five percent of the uncleared area voters have exercised their franchise, sources said.
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Six EU observers to monitor polling in Trinco

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 March 2004, 00:22 GMT]
Six observers of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) have been posted to Trincomalee electoral district to monitor the election activities on the polling day, said EU Chief Observer Chief Observer, Mr.John Cushnahan, Monday, addressing a press briefing in the Trincomalee district secretariat.


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Election arrangements in Trincomalee district finalized

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 March 2004, 18:50 GMT]
Fifteen clustered polling stations will be established in the Muttur and Eachilampathu divisions enabling voters residing in the Liberation Tigers held areas in the Trincomalee district to exercise their franchise, said Mr. Gamini Rodrigo, District Returning Officer and Government Agent, presiding over a conference held Friday in the district secretariat to finalize all arrangements for the forthcoming general election.
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"We solidly support leader Pirapaharan"- Thilak tells Solheim

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 March 2004, 08:19 GMT]
"We are solidly supporting the leadership of Mr.V.Pirapaharan. We are against dividing Tamils by north and east", Mr.S.Thilak, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Friday categorically told Norwegian special peace envoy Mr. Erik Solheim during a discussion held Friday morning at the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission office in Trincomalee town.
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UFA, UNF ready to release election manifestos

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 March 2004, 20:36 GMT]
The two major political parties contesting the forthcoming general election, United National Front (UNF) and the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) are giving final touches to their election manifestos which are expected to released in the next few days, political sources said.


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UPFA prepared to talk to LTTE - Kumaratunge

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 February 2004, 13:44 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge Thursday afternoon launching the election campaign of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) at Anuradhapura said she is prepared to commence peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), according to an evening news bulletin of the State run Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC). She, however, added that such talks should be held in an open manner, the news bulletin said.


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SLFP-JVP alliance office bearers announced

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 February 2004, 14:09 GMT]
Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge was appointed President of the United Peoples Freedom Front (UPFA) at the first executive committee meeting of the UPFA held Tuesday at the Presidential secretariat. Presidential advisor Mr Anura Bandaranaike and Opposition Leader Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse were appointed national organizers of the UPFA and Mr.Nandana Gunatilake of the JVP was appointed chairman, the State controlled Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation reported in its evening news bulletin Tuesday.


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Indonesian manpower minister visits Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 February 2004, 19:02 GMT]
Indonesian Minister for Manpower and Transmigration, Mr. Jacob Nuwa Wea, and a trade delegation arrived in Colombo on February 2. The Minister held discussions with the Sri Lanka’s Employment and Labour Minister Mr.Mahinda Samarasinghe and officials of the National Chamber of Commerce in Colombo, political officials said..


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Trinco students excel at national level exam

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 January 2004, 13:08 GMT]
Trincomalee students took the first, second and fourth places at the national level in Tamil medium in the Year-5 scholarship examination conducted by the Sri Lanka's Department of Examination. In addition Trincomalee district secured the first place for the second consecutive year, Commissioner General of Examinations Mr. Mahinda Wijesiri said.
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SLFP-JVP alliance signed in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 January 2004, 05:10 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna signed an agreement to form a new political alliance called 'United People's Freedom Alliance' at 10.40 a.m Tuesday in Colombo. Speaking after the signing ceremony, JVP Gen. Sec. Mr. Tilvin Silva said that the JVP had formed the alliance to prevent the plan to divide the country. The JVP and the SLFP say that the peace process and the ceasefire agreement between the Liberation Tigers and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s are part of a western backed conspiracy to divide Sri Lanka.
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Anura Bandaranaike tipped to become SLFP-JVP alliance leader

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 January 2004, 14:40 GMT]
The prospective leader of the new political alliance to be formed between the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) party Mr.Anura Bandaranaike said Sunday that "the formation of the new political group would be the beginning of the country's long political journey towards solving Sri Lanka's problems and for ensuring peace and justice for all."


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Sri Lanka President, Sinhala nationalists strike deal

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 January 2004, 12:25 GMT]
The Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and President Chandrika Kumaratunga's Sri Lanka Freedom Party will sign the long delayed agreement to form a political alliance on 20 January 2004, spokesmen for the parties announced Wednesday. The JVP has been campaigning for the cancellation of the cease fire agreement between Colombo and the Liberation Tigers.
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