SLA moves military hardware to Thenmaradchy FDLs

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 February 2007, 03:15 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were seen moving heavy military hardware, including more than fifteen T-54 type tanks and Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) along Point-Pedro Kodikamam road towards Thenmaradchy Forward Defence Lines (FDLs) Monday night, residents in Varani area said. With the fifth year anniversary of the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) approaching on 22 Februrary, the increased military movements have further fuelled speculations of renewed war in Jaffna, civil sources in Jaffna said.
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SL Government has no deals with LTTE- Prime Minister

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 February 2007, 22:44 GMT]
Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Prime Minister, Monday refuted the allegation that the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) has a secret understanding with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). He was answering a question by Joseph Michael Perera, parliamentarian of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) citing ousted minister Sripathi Sooriyarachchi in parliament Tuesday.
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Remove Tissa Vitarane from cabinet- JVP

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 February 2007, 11:51 GMT]
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), marxist, extreme Sinhala nationalist party, said Minister Tissa Vitarane who advocates devolution of power contrary to the provisions in the "Mahinda Chinthanaya" should be removed from the cabinet first if Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse is sincere in preserving law and order, media sources in Colombo said.
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NPM urges Rajapakse to nullify CFA with LTTE

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 February 2007, 18:37 GMT]
The National Patriotic Movement (NPM) Sunday made an urgent appeal to Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse to nullify the ceasefire agreement (CFA) signed by Ranil Wickremasinghe, the then Prime Minister and Velupillai Pirapaharan, leader of LTTE, before the CFA completes five-year period on February 22, sources in Colombo said.
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SL Parliament to meet amid political tension

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 February 2007, 13:12 GMT]
Sri Lanka's parliament is to meet Tuesday again amid political tension in the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government created by the sacking of three ministers by President Mahinda Rajapakse. Parliament met last time amid tension created by the defection of eighteen parliamentarians from the main opposition United National Party (UNP) to government side, sources said.
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Prayer campaign to force CFA abrogation

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 February 2007, 06:13 GMT]
A special prayer is to be held at Kandy Dalada Maligawa Saturday in support of the demand that the government should abrogate the ceasefire agreement signed on 22 February 2002 before it completes five-year period next week. Buddhist monks in large numbers are expected to participate in the prayer campaign, sources in Kandy said.
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JVP to hold public meetings against UPFA government

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 February 2007, 12:31 GMT]
Sri Lanka's extreme Sinhala nationalist, Marxist, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) is to hold a series of meetings southern Sri Lanka condemning the government for abandoning the Mahinda Chinthanaya principles, political sources in Colombo said. The first meeting of this series is to be held on February 15 evening at Nugegoda in Colombo, according to same sources.
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Buddhist monks to fast demanding abrogation of CFA

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 February 2007, 22:09 GMT]
Sri Lanka's National Bhikku Front (NBF), an organization of Buddhist monks, is to launch a fasting campaign Monday in Colombo demanding the Sri Lanka President to abrogate the ceasefire agreement (CFA) signed by the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe and Velupillai Pirapaharan, leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), sources in Colombo said.
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Emergency extended for another month in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 February 2007, 17:48 GMT]
Sri Lankan parliament Wednesday adopted motion to extend the State of Emergency for another month with a majority of 105 votes. 122 parliamentarians voted for the motion and 17 voted against.
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SL parliament debates emergency extension motion

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 February 2007, 10:11 GMT]
Sri Lanka's parliament began Wednesday morning debating the motion of extending the State of Emergency for another month. Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, the Sri Lankan Prime Minister tabled a motion for extending the State of Emergency for eighteenth time, said soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) were being killed and 181 were injured in the month of January in the war front.
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Commotion over seat allocation in SL Parliament

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 February 2007, 09:50 GMT]
Commotion prevailed in the Sri Lankan parliament when it resumed its sittings on Tuesday morning over the allocation of seats to ministers after the major reshuffle following new political alignment with dissident group of parliamentarians, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), all monks' political party. "Those who worked hard for the victory of President Mahinda Rajapakse in the last presidential election are allocated seats in the back rows and those worked against him are given seats in the first row," charged Wimal Weerawanse, the Propaganda Secretary of the JVP.
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JVP rebel MP urges Rajapakse to hold snap general election

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 February 2007, 10:32 GMT]
Nandana Gunatilake, rebel parliamentarian of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), has requested Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse to hold a snap general election to parliament. Mr. Gunatilake has been supporting the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government since the party hierarchy removed him from the JVP politburo due to policy differences, media sources said.
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Number of Cabinet rank ministers swells to 52

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 January 2007, 17:19 GMT]
The number of cabinet rank ministers in United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government of Sri Lanka rose to fifty-two with the swearing in of Amarasiri Dodangoda who took oaths as Minister of Justice before Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse Sunday afternoon, political sources in Colombo said. Fifty-one cabinet rank ministers took oaths Sunday morning in the Presidential Secretariat. 38 parliamentarians have been appointed non-cabinet ministers and 16 deputy ministers. Including the cabinet rank ministers, total number of ministers and deputies in the UPFA government is 103.
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Demonstration held in Colombo against spiralling cost of living

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 January 2007, 11:59 GMT]
"Cost of living has escalated and that is driving the poor even poorer, and people are undergoing immense hardship," said Anurakumara Dissanayake, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) parliamentarian and one of the coordinators of United Front For The Protection in of Motherland, during the protest demonstration held in front of Fort Railway Station in Colombo around 4:00 p.m Tuesday, media sources in Colombo said.
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12 Tamil youths arrested in Colombo sent to Boosa camp

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 January 2007, 10:04 GMT]
Twelve of Tamil youths arrested on suspicion and detained in four police stations in Colombo were suddenly transferred to Boosa Detention Camp in Galle in the southern province Monday. They were among several Tamil civilians, majority of them natives of Jaffna and upcountry Tamil plantations arrested by government security forces in Colombo and its suburbs during several cordon and search operations conducted recently, and detained in several police stations in the capital city, media sources in Colombo said.
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Wickremasinghe to meet Indian leaders next week in New Delhi

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 January 2007, 11:51 GMT]
The leader of the Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party, Ranil Wickremasinghe, is scheduled to visit India by the end of this week and to hold talks with Indian government leaders regarding the current political and security situation in Sri Lanka. Wickremasinghe is likely to meet Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Indian Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, leader of the main opposition Barathiya Janatha Party (BJP) during his stay in New Delhi, UNP sources said.
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JVP will agitate if government takes in UNP MPs - Vijith Herath

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 January 2007, 12:12 GMT]
"We will gather people and agitate on the streets against the government if it takes in United National Party (UNP) parliamentarians who are against 'Mahintha Chinthanaya,' and this may even lead to the downfall of the government," Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) parliamentarian for Gampaha district, Vijith Hearath said, commenting on the reported likely cross-over of 18 UNP parliamentarians to the government, political sources in Colombo said.
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SL Appeal Court to decide on CFA inquiry

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 January 2007, 17:19 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Court of Appeal Wednesday fixed the inquiry for 06 March into the petitions by the Sinhala extreme nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party and the Buddhist nationalist all monks Jathika Hela Urumaya seeking the Sri Lanka judiciary to declare that the Ceasefire Agreement, signed on 22 February 2002, is null and void on the basis that it contravened the constitution of the country.
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Tamil suspects detained at Boosa camp

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 January 2007, 23:08 GMT]
Tamil civilians arrested by the Sri Lanka's forces under the newly introduced Prevention of Terrorism (PTA) Act are now sent to Boosa detention camp located in Galle in the south of the island due to lack of space in Colombo jails. About sixty Tamils taken into custody in Colombo recently are likely to be sent to Boosa detention camp shortly, sources in Colombo said.
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JVP demands SL government to declare war against the Tigers

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 January 2007, 19:41 GMT]
The Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Sunday demanded the Government of Sri Lanka led by President Mahinda Rajapakse to declare full scale war on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) openly after proscribing it. The JVP politburo made the demand in a statement issued Sunday.
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