Kadirgamar, Jayaratne appointed ministers

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 February 2004, 00:55 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, who Saturday dissolved parliament through an Extraordinary Gazette notification, has appointed two senior parliamentarians of her People's Alliance, Mr.Lakshman Kadirgamar and Mr.D.M.Jayaratne, as ministers with immediate effect, the Presidential Secretariat said in a press release Sunday.
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Sri Lanka PM cancells visit to Thailand

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 February 2004, 18:37 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister, Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe, cancelled his scheduled visit to Thailand on Monday after President Chandrika Kumaratunga dissolved Parliament Saturday midnight.
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PA-UNF committee meets again

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 February 2004, 02:56 GMT]
Amid speculation in political circles that there would be a permanent breakdown of talks between President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge and Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe in arriving at a consensus to end the current political crisis, the committee discussing ways to bring an amicable settlement between the executive and the legislative branches met again Tuesday, political sources said.


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"No agreement on peace process with PM" - Kumaratunge

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 February 2004, 23:06 GMT]
Sri Lanka Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe's insistence to take control of the defense ministry is the main obstacle in concluding an agreement to end the current political impasse, said the Presidential Secretariat in a media release issued Tuesday. Speculation is rife in Colombo that the dissolution of parliament is to be announced at any moment, political sources in Colombo said.


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"UNF ready to get fresh mandate for peace"- Wickremesinghe

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 February 2004, 17:18 GMT]
"The ruling United National Front is prepared to face a snap general election to get a fresh mandate for peace," Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe said Sunday addressing a rally at Hali-Ela in Badulla district. The meeting was held to inform the masses on the current political situation since Sri Lanka President's take over of three key ministries from the UNF government, media sources said.


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Health workers launch hunger strike

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 January 2004, 17:28 GMT]
A group of forty senior members of the Health Services Trade Union Alliance (HSTUA ) Monday around noon launched a fast unto death campaign opposite to the Health Ministry office in Colombo, demanding the removal of salary anomalies and payment of arrears fully in one installment once a solution is found. Earlier, the HSTUA high command rejected the compromise formula prepared by the Health Ministry on a directive from Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, health ministry sources said.
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LTTE expresses 'serious concern' over Indo-Lanka defence pact

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 January 2004, 14:31 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has expressed serious concern over the envisaged Indo-Sri Lankan Defence Agreement (DCA) arguing that it could have far-reaching negative consequences for the current peace process, sources told TamilNet Monday.
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Anura Bandaranaike denies secrecy in SLFP-JVP pact

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 January 2004, 12:15 GMT]
Peoples Alliance parliamentarian Mr.Anura Bandaranaike in a statement issued Friday denied any secrecy in the agreement signed by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the Sinhala Nationalist Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) in forming the United Peoples Freedom Alliance ( UPFA ).


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Wickremesinghe challenges UPFA to publicize secret pact

[TamilNet, Thursday, 22 January 2004, 17:02 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe Thursday challenged the newly formed United Peoples' Freedom Alliance to place its secret pact signed by the SLFP and JVP before the people, when speaking at the United National Front parliamentary group meeting to discuss the new political formation, political sources said.


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‘Sinhala leaders not interested in peace proposals’ - Ilamparuthy

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 January 2004, 18:00 GMT]
“Events which followed the submission of our proposal for an Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA)- take over of ministries, the campaign to whip up Sinhala extremism- showed that Sinhala leaders are not interested in negotiations,” said Mr. C. Ilamparuthi, head of the LTTE’s political division in Jaffna, addressing a meeting in Oslo Saturday to mark the eleventh death anniversary of Col. Kittu, a senior Tiger commander. He urged India to come forward to develop a positive relationship with the LTTE.
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"JVP-SLFP alliance before January 31" - Weerawanse

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 January 2004, 16:14 GMT]
"The Memorandum of Understanding between the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and the JVP forming a political alliance would be signed before January 31," said the Sinhala nationalist, Marxist, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) parliamentary group leader Mr.Wimal Weerawanse addressing a public meeting organized by the National Patriotic Movement (NPM) and held at Trincomalee private bus stand in the heart of the town Tuesday evening.


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JVP calls for Wickremesinghe' s resignation

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 January 2004, 13:30 GMT]
The Sinhala Nationalist and Marxist party, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Thursday called for the resignation of Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe from the post of Prime Minister and from the current parliament if the Prime Minister wanted to withdraw from the two year-old ceasefire agreement (CFA) he signed with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), media sources said.


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Leftist parties urge PM to sign MoU with President

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 January 2004, 14:06 GMT]
The Nava Lanka Sama Samaja Party (NLSSP), Democratic Left Front (DLF), Sri Lanka Communist Party (SLCP) and Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) Tuesday said they had informed Sri Lanka's Prime Minister to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the President on three points to bring about a conducive environment to restart the peace process.


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Services of Jaffna NGOs’ consortium commended

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 January 2004, 22:38 GMT]
“Some Non Governmental Organizations in Jaffna are only interested in self-promotion. But a few NGOs have been serving the people quiestly, despite facing several difficulties since 1995 [when the Sri Lanka Army wrested control of Jaffna], and we have to commend their service. We will join you in serving the people,” said Mr. Iniyavan, the coordinator of the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization in Jaffna, speaking at the meeting to elect new office bearers of the Consortium of Jaffna NGOs Monday.
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2003: The year in review

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 31 December 2003, 18:58 GMT]
The widespread optimism on peace that greeted the dawn of 2003 has evaporated and the power struggle between Sri Lanka's Prime Minister and President that threatens the peace process now occupies the center stage of politics in Colombo. High Security Zones (HSZ) in Jaffna continue to deny displaced Tamils their fundamental rights. Colombo's unwillingness and inability to disburse funds stalls development and rehabilitation in NorthEast, as international aid remains blocked, awaiting concrete signs of progress in peace.
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Teacher shortage imperils NorthEast education - Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 December 2003, 19:21 GMT]
"The quality of education in Tamil medium schools in the North East province is very adversely affected from the level of primary education through the level of secondary education as a result of the severe shortage of Tamil medium teachers," and dismal student performance at the GCE (advanced level) examination is a direct result of this shortage, said the parliamentary group leader of the Tamil National Alliance Mr.R.Sampanthan in a six page letter sent to the Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe Monday.


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Education Conference urges speedy resolution of political crisis

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 December 2003, 13:20 GMT]
9 million member Asia Pacific Region branch of Education International (EI), in a resolution adopted at the Fourth Asia Pacific Regional Conference held in Kaohsiung, Taiwan from 10th to 12 th December, urged the Sri Lankan President and Prime Minister to bring the current political impasse to an end without further delay and to invite the Norwegian facilitators to carry forward the peace process and to restore normalcy in the northeast province by handing over schools located in the high security zones in the Jaffna district, attendees to the conference said.
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Sinhala Nationalists demand arrest of Sri Lanka’s PM

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 December 2003, 16:20 GMT]
The Patriotic National Movement (PNM) of Sri Lanka, an alliance of Sinhala nationalists and hardline Buddhist monks, Tuesday held a demonstration in Colombo and handed over a letter to Sri Lanka’s President, Ms. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, saying that the Prime Minister, Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe, and all persons responsible for the police raid on the Millennium City military safe house should be arrested immediately and punished.
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"UNP ready to seek fresh mandate from people" - Wickremesinghe

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 December 2003, 14:52 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe Saturday said the Presdient has no power to take over the defense ministry according to the constitution and her action in this regard should be considered a violation of the peoples’ mandate at the last general election. “The President should work in close co-operation with the political party having a majority in the parliament,” said Mr.Wickremasinghe addressing the 49th National Convention of the United National Party, Saturday at Sugathathasa Indoor Stadium in Colombo.
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Supreme Court directs AG to enlighten on Jaffna HSZ legality

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 December 2003, 18:20 GMT]
The Supreme Court Thursday directed the Attorney General to take immediate measures to enlighten the court on the legality of the high security zones in the Jaffna peninsula in response to the fundamental rights applications filed by three persons including Jaffna district parliamentarian Mr. Mavai Senathirajah. The inquiry into the applications would be taken up for inquiry on December 19, legal sources said.
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