Trincomalee UC to function from Thursday

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 April 2006, 10:56 GMT]
Elected administration of the Trincomalee Urban Council is to function from Thursday morning with Mr.Shanmugarajah Gowrimuhunthan and Mr. Kanthasamy Selvarajah of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchchi (ITAK) taking oaths as Chairman and Vice-Chairman respectively, local government sources in Trincomalee said.
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Henricsson to facilitate safe travel of Eastern LTTE Commanders

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 April 2006, 09:01 GMT]
The stalemate in the preparation to Geneva Talks ended Thursday as the Tiger leadership accepted the latest suggestion submitted by Major General Ulf Henricsson, Head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, who assured safe travel of the Eastern LTTE Commanders in a civilian vessel without Sri Lanka Navy involvement. Maj. Gen. Henricsson will be on board the ferry on Saturday when the LTTE will be sending Acting Commanders to Eastern districts and transport Col. Sornam, the Trincomalee Commander of the LTTE and Col. Bhanu, the Batticaloa Commander to Mullaithivu.
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PNM demands ouster of Norway

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 April 2006, 00:10 GMT]
Patriotic National Movement (PNM), an alliance of extreme Sinhala nationalists formed and backed by the Janatha Vimukthi Permamuna (JVP), a coalition ally of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, held a protest campaign in front of the Norwegian Embassy in Ward Place, Colombo from 4.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. Friday demanding the ouster of Norway from Sri Lanka's Peace Process, civil society sources in Colombo said.
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JVP steps up anti-Norwegian campaign

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 April 2006, 15:32 GMT]
The Sinhala extreme nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) stepped up its campaign against Norway on Wednesday, a day before the Norwegian International Development Minister and the Norwegian Special Envoy, were scheduled to meet Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse. "The newly appointed Norwegian Special Envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer contributed to the recognition of Palestine. He is here with a similar agenda to divide the country," the Propaganda Secretary of the JVP, Wimal Weerawanse, addressing a press conference organised by the extremist Patriotic National Movement in Colombo said Wednesday. He also criticized the outgoing Head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, Mr. Hagrup Haukland.
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JVP performance has improved, says routed party officials

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 April 2006, 17:29 GMT]
"In relation to past results, we have won more seats in the local authority polls," said Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the Marxist Sinhala national party's political wing in a press release issued in Colombo. "Number of our members in the Tisamaharagama pradeshya sabah has increased and this reflects the excellent work we have with our people in that area," the release added.
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JVP Kegalle office attacked, three injured

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 April 2006, 12:24 GMT]
Janatha Vimukthi Peramunai (JVP), the marxist Sinhala national party's Kegalle office was attacked and three JVP members injured Saturday evening by a group alleged tobe belonging to United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), said JVP sources.
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ITAK victory in Trinco proves NorthEast homeland for Tamils- TNA

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 March 2006, 20:19 GMT]
The victory of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) in the election for the Trincomalee Urban Council and Trincomalee Town and Gravets Pradesiya Sabah have strengthened the concept that the NorthEast province is the homeland for Tamil speaking people, said Mr.K.Thurairetnasingham, Trincomalee district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Friday evening after the counting of votes came to a close in the local councils held on Thursday.
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UPFA victory should pave way for progress in peace- TNA

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 March 2006, 12:33 GMT]
"Local electoral rout of Sinhala extremist parties, the marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), and Buddhist monks party Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) is a clear mandate to Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse to take immediate steps to move peace process forward. Urgently, the Unitary Constitution and rejection of concepts of Tamil Homeland should be removed from "Mahinda Chintanaya," and replaced with concepts supporting Tamils right to self-determination," said Sivajilingam, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian commenting on the unfolding local election results giving UPFA huge victory and ITAK demonstrating its support base in the East.
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Rajapakse casts vote, turnout less than 60%

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 March 2006, 12:15 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa cast his vote at the local Government polls at the polling centre in Medamulana D.A. Rajapaksa Maha Vidyalaya in Hambantota where his name is registered.
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JVP accuses UPFA of attack on party members

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 March 2006, 00:12 GMT]
Mr.Tilvin Silva, General Secretary of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the Sinhala extremist party accused the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) as the force behind the attacks on its party members, in a press conference in Colombo Tuesday, political sources in Colombo said.


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Local election opens fault lines in ruling alliance

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 March 2006, 05:20 GMT]
The ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and its key constituent, Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), are engaged in battle of words to assert electoral dominance in the forthcoming local council elections, and this combined with the recent escalation in attacks against JVP members by UPFA supporters portend dangers of creating permanent fissures in the alliance, political sources in Colombo said.
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SL Government needs support of JVP, JHU- Rajapakse

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 March 2006, 02:08 GMT]
Support of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) is vital for continued smooth functioning of the Sri Lanka Government, said Sri Lanka's President, Mahinda Rajapakse, speaking at the Gampaha district Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) meeting held in Viyangoda Wednesday afternoon, SLFP sources from Colombo said.
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Sinhala nationalist extremists obstacle to peace – Balasingham

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 March 2006, 20:21 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers will view any further attacks by military-backed paramilitaries as an act of war and may postpone next month’s talks in Geneva unless the state fulfils the Ceasefire Agreement and disarms them, the LTTE’s Political Strategist and Chief Negotiator, Mr. Anton Balasingham said Tuesday. In an interview to Reuters at his London home, Mr. Balasingham also said President Mahinda Rajapakse should dump his Sinhala nationalist allies and seek support from the main opposition UNP party which led a government that held six rounds of talks with the LTTE in 2002-3.
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USAID funds political puppet show in Sri Lanka TV

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 March 2006, 11:32 GMT]
Key decision makers in the Sri Lanka Government will interact with a Puppet cast representing "a socio-politically diverse cross-section of Sri Lanka, and contributes varied perspectives into a weekly discussion of prominent political issues," in the USAID funded "Janathalaya" in the Telshan Network Limited (TNL), said a US Embassy press release issued from Colombo Wednesday.
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PNM alliance aims to split East from NEP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 March 2006, 11:10 GMT]
The Patriotic National Movement (PNM), an alliance of Sinhala nationalists, on Wednesday formed a "task force" named "Defenders of Eastern People's Rights" in collaboration with Sinhala nationalist parties, Muslim and Tamil groups in the East. The task force was formed after a meeting with the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), MLM Ataulla's National Muslim Congress (NMC), K. Vigneswaran's Akila Ilankai Tamil United Front (AITUF), a break away party of the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), and key operatives of Karuna Group, a PNM activist has disclosed to Colombo media. The task force aims to split the East from the North Eastern Province (NEP).
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Rajapakse mulls ditching JVP for UNP - paper

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 March 2006, 07:48 GMT]
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse is considering a national government or a snap general election to move the peace process forward, The Sunday Leader newspaper reported this week, adding a final decision on the two options is to be taken by Rajapakse after the local authority polls on March 30. This entails a tieup between Rajapakse’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the main opposition United National Party (UNP).
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TNA rejects JVP's claimed right to nominate CC member

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 March 2006, 00:07 GMT]
As the dispute among the 'minority parties,' Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in selecting the sixth member of the Constitutional Council continue to stymie CC from functioning, the Speaker Mr.W.M.J.Lokkubandara has asked the Leader of the House, Mr Sripala de Silva, to speak to the leaders of the three parties to resolve the matter urgently, parliamentary sources said.


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JVP demands expulsion of Norway from peace process

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 March 2006, 09:15 GMT]
Wimal Weerawanse, Propaganda Secretary and Parliamentary Group Leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Permuna (JVP), Sri Lanka's powerful Sinhala nationalist "marxist" party, demanded during Tuesday's parliamentary session that Norway be stripped of its facilitator role in Sri Lanka. Accusing Norway of attempting to hold on to its facilitator role for two more years to provide diplomatic status to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and assisting LTTE towards earning international recognition for its Declaration of Independence (UDI) for Tamil Eelam, the JVP's propaganda secretary demanded immediate expulsion of Norway from the peace process, parliamentary sources said.
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JHU, JVP reject Geneva agreement in All Party Conference

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 March 2006, 11:38 GMT]
Sinhala extremist parties, Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), during the All Party Conference (APC) held Monday at the Old Parliamentary building in Colombo submitted separate memoranda rejecting the agreement made between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers in the talks held in Geneva on 22-23rd February, parlilamentary sources said.
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Tsunami affected NorthEast teachers to receive help from INGO

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 March 2006, 20:44 GMT]
Education International (EI) funded compensation scheme for NorthEast teachers affected by tsunami was inaugurated by the Ceylon Tamil Teachers Union (CTTU) in an event held Sunday in Trincomalee Vikneswara Maha Vidiyalayam, education officials said. EI has allocated 3.2 million rupees through the Sri Lanka Teachers Tsunami Rehabilitation Project for the North East for the benefit of nearly 1655 teacher-families affected by tsunami, CTTU General Secretary Mr.T.Mahasivam said.
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