SLMC complains against illegal TV, radio in Eastern province

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 March 2010, 11:19 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) Thursday lodged a complaint with the Commissioner of Elections that two ministers of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) are operating an illegal television and a radio transmission in the eastern province which conduct election propaganda.
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“1978 Constitution places me above the Law” - Sri Lanka's President

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 March 2010, 11:15 GMT]
“Republic Constitution of 1978 brought by the then J. R. Jayawardene government places me above the Law. Accordingly judiciary cannot take action against me. The consititution empowers me to punish any soldier of the Sri Lanka Army who works against the country,” Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse said Tuesday while addressing an election rally in support of Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollogama held at Kotte, according media reports from Colombo.
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EPDP obstructs other parties campaigning in the islets of Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 March 2010, 14:57 GMT]
Candidates contesting Jaffna district electorate allege that supporters of Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), a constituent party in the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), obstruct other political parties from electioneering in the islets of Jaffna which are under the complete control of Sri Lanka Navy (SLN). EPDP is trying to secure a seat in the parliamentary election in the islets of Jaffna with threats and physical harm to the contestants and supporters of other political parties, the candidate of a national political party who had been to the islets for election campaigning told TamilNet.
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Election violence on the increase – CaFFe

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 March 2010, 09:44 GMT]
Election related violence has risen to eighty-six since the closure of nomination for the forthcoming general election that is scheduled to be held on April 8, according to Keerthi Tennakoon, spokesman for the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFe), an election monitoring group. The violence included nineteen cases of damage to property, thirty assaults, 321 election violations and thirteen cases of abusing state property.
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Election campaign gains momentum in Jaffna peninsula

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 March 2010, 16:28 GMT]
Election campaign activities by contesting political parties and independent groups have gained momentum in Jaffna peninsula and leaders of political parties including President Mahinda Rajapakse of United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), R. Sampanthan of Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Ranil Wickremasinghe of United National Party (UNP) and Somaratne Amarasinghe of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) are expected to come to the peninsula to engage in electioneering, sources in Jaffna said.
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Emergency extended in Sri Lanka by another month

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 March 2010, 10:56 GMT]
The State of Emergency was extended by another month by the Sri Lanka’s parliament Tuesday. Ninety three parliamentarians of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and its constituent parties voted for the extension and twenty parliamentarians from the main opposition United National Party (UNP), Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) voted against. The dissolved parliament was summoned by Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse to ratify his gazette notification issued last week to extend the emergency. According to the Constitution, the gazette notification should be ratified within ten days.
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SLPP persons harass senior Tamil journalist Parameswaran in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 February 2010, 08:33 GMT]
Persons of Sri Lanka People’s Party (SLPP), a constituent of ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), caught and held N. Parameswaran, a senior Tamil journalist in Jaffna peninsula, the correspondent of BBC Tamil service and Daily Mirror, Saturday from 9:00 a.m til 9:30 in front of the SLFP office located at Veampadi Veethi in Jaffna, sources in Jaffna said. This office is actively engaged in getting SLFP membership forms signed by the resettled Vanni displaced persons in Jaffna on the pretext that the forms are to be used to get information about their children gone missing during the war and to give them relief food, and Parameswaran was caught and held for nearly half an hour as he tried to expose the motive of the forms to the Vanni IDPs waiting in queue to get them, the sources further said. Police, on being informed of the incident freed Parameswaran.
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ACTC submits own list of candidates to contest Jaffna electorate

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 February 2010, 14:05 GMT]
All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) party which had quit Tamil National Alliance (TNA) submitted Friday its nomination list at Jaffna Secretariat with Sinnathurai Varatharajan, a teacher of economics, as its chief candidate, sources in Jaffna said. Many prominent people in the peninsula as well as the Jaffna University community are said to be supporting ACTC in the forthcoming parliamentary election in Jaffna district electorate.
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TNA submits candidates’ list to contest Vanni district

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 February 2010, 18:25 GMT]
Tamil National Aliance (TNA) submitted Wednesday its list of candidates to contest Vanni district in the forthcoming parliamentary election at Vavuniyaa Secretariat, sources in Vavuniyaa said. Meanwhile, United National Party (UNP) is expected to submit Thursday its list of candidates contesting Jaffna district with Ms. Vijayakala Maheswaran, wife of late Thiyagarajah Maheswaran, former Colombo district parliamentarian, as its chief candidate.
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Ex-TNA parliamentarian Thangesvary to contest in UPFA ticket

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 February 2010, 18:02 GMT]
Kathiraman Thangesvary, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian in the dissolved parliament is to contest in the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) with five new faces in the Batticaloa electoral district, media circles in Colombo said Monday.
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Sportsmen join election run

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 February 2010, 21:52 GMT]
Former Cricket captain Sanath Jayasuriya and Sri Lankan sprint queen and Melbourne Olympic silver medallist Susanthika Jayasinghe have received nominations to contest in the forthcoming parliamentary elections under the UPFA ticket.
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Magistrate takes tough stand on police

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 February 2010, 11:42 GMT]
Colombo Chief Magistrate, Ms Champa Janaki Rajaratne, Thursday reprimanded the Police for the failure to arrest armed men who are believed to be supporters of the ruling party when they attacked civilian protestors during their peaceful march condemning the arrest and detention of General Fonseka held on Wednesday in Colombo, legal sources said.
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Media Ministry comes under President Rajapakse

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 February 2010, 13:32 GMT]
President Mahinda Rajapakse Thursday took over the Ministry of Mass Media and Information on a request made by the incumbent minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa. The minister said he had made the request to the President in order to concentrate on the parliamentary election propaganda on behalf of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA).
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SL Parliament to be dissolved this week: Maithiripala Sirisena

[TamilNet, Sunday, 07 February 2010, 11:46 GMT]
Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa would be dissolving the parliament this week on his return from Russia, said Maithripala Sirisena, a Senior Minister in the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government Sunday to media. The term of office of the current parliament ends on April 22. He further said his government hopes to have a 'closer understanding' with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in the forthcoming general election to 'uplift' the Northern and Eastern provinces. However he said that does not mean that the UPFA government would accept any condition by the TNA.
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Presidential pardon clears ex-UNP national organizer to contest on UPFA

[TamilNet, Saturday, 06 February 2010, 02:03 GMT]
S.B.Dissanayake who was the national organizer of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) till he defected to the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and supported the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapakse in the last presidential election was granted full presidential pardon and appointed as UPFA organizer for Udunuwara electorate in Kandy district.
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Fonseka had plans to stage Russian style coup, says Rajapaksa government

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 February 2010, 17:08 GMT]
The United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government led by Mahinda Rajapaksa Friday claimed that there was an attempt to stage a Russian style coup in Sri Lanka on the eve of last presidential election. Thirty seven persons including several retired Major Generals and Colonels and Brigadiers have been held in detention over their alleged involvement in the coup attempt, the government said.
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SL parliament extends emergency another month

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 February 2010, 16:57 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s parliament Friday adopted a motion by a majority of eighty seven votes to extend the State of Emergency for another month. One hundred and two MPs of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) voted for the motion and fifteen from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the main opposition United National Party (UNP) voted against. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) parliamentarians did not participate in the voting.
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No manipulation in presidential election results: Premajayantha

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 January 2010, 13:24 GMT]
The government of Sri Lanka led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa Wednesday denied any kind of involvement in the manipulation the presidential election results. The Secretary General of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government and a senior minister in Rajapaksa cabinet, Susil Premjayantha at a news briefing held Wednesday evening denied the allegation that a senior presidential advisor had been seen in the office of the Commissioner of Elections.
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UPFA to file legal action against Fonseka: Premjayantha

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 26 January 2010, 18:34 GMT]
Susil Premjayantha, general secretary of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and a senior minister in the government led by incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa Tuesday evening said that his party would challenge the victory of General (retd) Sarath Fonseka in Court of Law if he becomes elected president. He made the announcement after the closure of presidential poll and after counting of postal votes began.
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Six Fonseka election offices destroyed, JVP complains

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 January 2010, 11:35 GMT]
Armed gangs believed to be supporters of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Friday night destroyed six election propaganda offices of common opposition candidate General (retd) Sarath Fonseka in separate incidents in the Gampaha district in the western province, according to Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) media spokesman.
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