Singapore PM arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 June 2004, 14:49 GMT]
Goh Chok Tong, Singapore's prime minister who is due to hand over power to his deputy, Lee Hsien Loong, in July, arrived in Sri Lanka Friday afternoon for a three day visit as the final leg of a South Asian tour, after visiting Pakistan and Bangaladesh, sources in Colombo said.
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SLMC reiterates conditional support to UPFA government

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 June 2004, 17:05 GMT]
Mr.Rauff Hakim, Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) told media persons in Kandy Monday that his party is prepared to consider supporting the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government if it decided to abandon its attempt to revert the parliament into a constituent assembly and accommodate a separate Muslim delegation in the future peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
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"SL President's duplicitous politics threatens peace"- MP

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 June 2004, 03:08 GMT]
Delays in resumption of peace talks due to Sri Lanka President Ms Kumaratunge's continually shifting positions on the peace process, and suspected Sri Lanka Government's complicity in destabilizing the Batticaloa district, portend imminent danger to prevailing peace, said Joseph Pararajasingham, Senior Vice President of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Member of Parliament (MP), talking to TamilNet from Colombo, Sunday morning.
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"LTTE losing confidence in peace process"- UNF

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 June 2004, 02:35 GMT]
"The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) appears to be losing confidence on the peace process because of the contradictory stands taken by President Chandrika Kumaratunge," said the media spokesman of the main opposition, Professor G.L.Peiris, at a press briefing held Friday in Colombo, according to media sources.
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No ISGA outside parliamentary procedure - UPFA govt.

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 June 2004, 16:08 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Media Minister and United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government's new cabinet spokesman Mr. Mangala Samaraweera, Friday rejected reports in a section of the media that the President was exploring the possibility of establishing Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) in the northeast province outside parliamentary procedure as baseless. '' There is absolutely no truth in such reports,'' Mr. Mangala Samaraweera said at the cabinet press briefing.
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Protest rally in Jaffna draws large crowd

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 June 2004, 11:57 GMT]
Around sixty thousand people participated in the protest march and rally held in Jaffna town Thursday putting forward five demands including the restoration of normal life and the establishment of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) put forward by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the northeast province. Jaffna District Peoples' Forum organized this demonstration and rally.
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Establish ISGA, appeals Jaffna Peoples Forum

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 June 2004, 00:40 GMT]
Tamil Speaking Peoples Forum for Human Rights and Development based in Jaffna Wednesday appealed to the President Ms.Chandrika Kumaratunge to initiate bold step of recommencing negotiations with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to establish the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) which could handle all development and reconstruction projects in the northeast province.
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Black Sea Tiger Major Puhalini remembered

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 June 2004, 00:10 GMT]
Major Puhalini, member of the Black Sea Tiger wing of the Liberation Tigers, who died on 30 July, 2003 in a boat mishap in international waters, was remembered Sunday evening in Muttur east in Trincomalee district. Her mother Ms Vadivelu unveiled the memorial plaque constructed at Alankulam Heroes Cemetary, sources said.
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Tigers lambast Kumaratunge's political duplicity

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 June 2004, 02:56 GMT]
Blaming Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunge for "linking ISGA with permanent poltical solution," as a "manipulative strategy to take forward the peace process for a while and then to abort it," the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam called upon the International community to recognize Ms.Kumaratunge's political duplicity and to "bring pressure on her government to be principled and honest in political negotiations," in a statement published in the Peace Secretariat website.
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Kumaratunge on private visit to London

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 June 2004, 02:16 GMT]
Sri Lanka President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge left for London on a private visit Saturday night. She will be away for a week, government sources said. Ms. Kumaratunge left the country when her recorded address to the nation was being relayed through the state television and electronic media.
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SL President to give televised address

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 June 2004, 16:11 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge is to address the people of Sri Lanka on Saturday 8.30 p.m. through state television and electronic media, ruling party sources said Friday evening.
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Sri Lanka President urged to establish ISGA immediately

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 June 2004, 20:33 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Thursday told Sri Lanka President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge that Tamils couldn't depend any more on the Sinhala political leadership to enjoy their rights. ''The Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) should be established in the northeast without delay so that Tamils could enjoy self rule in their homeland,'' Mr.R.Sampanthan, leader of the TNA parliamentary group, told the President during a discussion held Thursday night in the Presidential House at the latter's invitation, TNA sources said.
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Sri Lanka President invites TNA for discusssion

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 June 2004, 13:13 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge Wednesday invited the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) for discussion. The TNA parliamentary group, which met Wednesday afternoon decided to accept the invitation. The discussion between the President and Tamil National Alliance have been fixed for Thursday night 8 p.m., TNA sources said.
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Rehabilitated NE Provincial council, no substitute for ISGA- Paper

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 June 2004, 00:22 GMT]
”Sri Lanka Government appears to think that by strengthening the NorthEast provincial council and Center for Rehabilitation it could weaken LTTE’s claim for ISGA and convince the International Community to start disbursing the allocated aid money. This back door diplomacy will not work. The mandate of 90% of NorthEast Tamils should be recognized and the Government can ignore Tamils demand only at its own peril,” said Thinakkural, a popular Tamil daily in its editorial Tuesday.
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Jaffna civil organizations to hold protest march

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 June 2004, 21:55 GMT]
Jaffna District Consortium of Civil Organizations Tuesday decided to hold a protest march in Jaffna town Friday demanding the Government of Sri Lanka to restore normalcy in the lives of Tamil people and stop killing in the east and attacks on plantation Tamils, sources said.
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TNA MPs to meet LTTE political leadership Saturday

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 June 2004, 00:40 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians are scheduled to the meet Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Saturday to discuss the current political situation in the south and the latest developments in reviving the peace talks through Norwegian facilitation, sources said.
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CWC said still undecided on support to UPFA

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 June 2004, 14:57 GMT]
The Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), a constituent of the main opposition United National Front (UNF), is still undecided on extending support to the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance, sources in Colombo said. Meanwhile, the Presidential Secretariat Friday denied media reports that talks were held Thursday between the President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, and CWC leader Mr. Arumugam Thondaman. The media reports said that the talks had ended in failure.
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'Committee to sort out differences in UPFA'

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 June 2004, 18:31 GMT]
The leaders of Sri Lanka Freedom party (SLFP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the two major constituents of ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), Tuesday night agreed at a discussion to appoint a committee to sort out the differences that have arisen in implementing the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two parties, sources said.
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Ruling Alliance facing crisis?

[TamilNet, Monday, 31 May 2004, 03:14 GMT]
Media reports from Colombo indicated cracks appearing within the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), as the marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), one of the mainconstituents of UPFA, sent a written communique to Sri Lanka's President Ms Kumaratunge accusing her of violating the MoU signed between the JVP and SLFP.


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IDPs urge re-opening of Vadamarachchi-Nagarkovil road

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 May 2004, 17:09 GMT]
The Association of Nagarkovil Internally Displaced Families (ANIDF) in Jaffna district Saturday appealed to Sri Lanka's President Ms.Chandrika Kumaratunge to take steps to re-open the Vadamarachchi-Nagarkovil main road for civilian movement, sources said.


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