Sri Lanka's PM invites TNA for talks

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 November 2003, 06:48 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe has invited the Tamil National Alliance for talks on Wednesday evening to discuss the present constitutional crisis and the future of the peace process. Earlier on the day Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe is scheduled to meet the President at the latter's invitation at the Presidential Secretariat, political sources said.
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SL President invites PM for talks on national government

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 November 2003, 12:43 GMT]
In a letter sent to the Prime Minister Monday evening Sri Lanka’s President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge has invited Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe for talks on her proposal to form a Government of Reconstruction and reconciliation. She has given three dates and times to hold the talks, government sources said.


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UNF prepared to face snap elections - Peiris

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 November 2003, 09:37 GMT]
The UNF spokesman and Minister of Constitutional Affairs Mr. G.L.Peiris said Monday that the Prime Minister Mr. Wickremsinghe and his government are prepared to face a snap election, media sources said. It is logical to assume that we have to resolve the "threshold issue" before anything else, Mr. Peiris is reported to have told the media. The Prime Minister's office denied earlier reports on the talks being postponed. The decision is to be taken after the LTTE's views are received through the Norwegian Foreign Deputy Mr.Helgesen, who is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka today.
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NorthEast Trade Union criticises SL President's actions

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 November 2003, 14:56 GMT]
North East Trade Unions Federation (NETUF) at a special meeting held Sunday condemned the recent actions by the President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge as a step to derail the peace talks between the United National Front (UNF) government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)," sources said.


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Sri Lanka's PM stresses priority attention to peace process

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 November 2003, 10:16 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe said Friday that the continuation of peace process should receive priority attention. " I would meet all the political parties soon to take forward the peace process," he told journalists on his arrival in Colombo, media sources said
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Kumaratunga presides over first NSC meeting

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 November 2003, 16:04 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, Thursday presided over the first meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) after she dismissed the defense minister of the United National Front (UNF) government, Mr.Tilak Marapone, Presidential secretariat sources said.


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UNF urges SL President to reconvene parliament

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 November 2003, 11:49 GMT]
United National Front(UNF) government spokesman and Minister of Constitutional Affairs Mr. G.L.Peiris said Thursday that the President should summon the parliament immediately and to restore the three ministries to Ministers Mr.Tilak Marapone, Mr.John Amaratunge and Mr.Imtiaz Bakir Markar. "The government would decide on the future course of action once the Prime Minister returns home," said Mr.Peiris at the press briefing held Thursday afternoon, media sources said


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UNF leaders prepare to welcome Sri Lanka’s PM

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 November 2003, 03:26 GMT]
Leaders of the United National Front government are making elaborate arrangements to accord a rousing welcome to the Prime Minister, Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, at the Katunayake International Airport (KIA) when he returns home Friday after a three day high profile official visit to the United States, UNF sources said.
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Sri Lanka crisis draws global media attention

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 November 2003, 00:10 GMT]
Tuesday’s sacking of key ministers of defense, interior and information by Sri Lanka’s President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, and her prorogation of parliament and subsequent declaration of emergency have elicited concerns from several Western governments and prompted global coverage in leading newspapers.
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TNA parliamentarians extend support to UNF government

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 November 2003, 16:16 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians Thursday decided to support the motion of vote of confidence in the United National Front government, led by its Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, in Sri Lanka's parliament when it meets after prorogation. The notice of the motion is likely to be handed over to the Speaker Wednesday with signatures of about 130 parliamentarians, the UNF Chief Whip and Minister Mr.Mahinda Samarasinghe said Wednesday.
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TNA urges Sri Lankan President to respect people's verdict

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 November 2003, 10:31 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance Wednesday urged Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge to respect the verdict of the people at the parliamentary election held in December 2001. “Violation of democratic rules of Governance will inevitably lead to a situation of chaos and anarchy in the whole country,” the TNA said in a press release.
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SL President's actions 'desperate' and 'irresponsible' -Wickremasinghe

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 November 2003, 21:26 GMT]
Responding to the actions of Sri Lanka's President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, who sacked three key ministers of the United National Front government and prorogued parliament Tuesday, Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe, the Prime Minister, currently visiting Washington, DC, said in a statement that the " irresponsible and precipitous actions of the President [are] aimed at plunging the country into chaos and anarchy."
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UNF to send LTTE proposals to all parties

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 October 2003, 15:08 GMT]
The Norwegian ambassador in Sri Lanka, Mr. Hans Brattskar, Friday evening handed over the interim administrative structure proposals from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to the Constitutional Affairs Minister, Professor G.L.Peiris, at the latter's official residence in Colombo on his return from Kilinochchi, media sources said
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Navy occupation leaves cattle on the road

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 October 2003, 01:00 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy has barred cattle from grazing in Attavaniakulam pastureland in Thampalakamam in Trincomalee district as the pastureland falls within the newly expanded High Security Zone (HSZ), security sources said. While the cattle breeders bemoan the loss of prime grazing area, farmers are scrambling to safeguard their paddy crops in more than 5000 acres from wandering cattle.
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SL Govt. to issue statement on LTTE's proposals on IA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 October 2003, 16:06 GMT]
The United National Front government of Sri Lanka will issue a special statement on Saturday on the interim administrative structure proposal of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which is scheduled to be submitted to the government through the Norwegian ambassador in Colombo Friday evening, Cabinet spokesman and UNF's Constitutional Affairs Minister, Professor G.L.Peiris, said at the weekly press briefing held Thursday at the government information department, media sources said.
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Hindus celebrate Deepavali

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 October 2003, 17:05 GMT]
Hindus in Colombo celebrated the Deepavali Festival, the festival of lights, at the New Kathiresan hall in Bambalapitiya Thursday.
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Police block anti-peace demonstrators reaching Trinco SLMM office

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 October 2003, 14:37 GMT]
The Eastern Peoples' Front, which is locally considered as a front organization of the Sinhala nationalist and Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, Wednesday held a hartal (general shutdown) and demonstration in Trincomalee town against the presence of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and the establishment of an Interim Administration for the northeast province, sources said.
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Hindu Religious Ministry to celebrate Deepavali

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 October 2003, 16:09 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Hindu Religious Affairs Ministry has released 1.5 million rupees to Administrators of thirty five institutions such as orphanages, homes of the aged, children homes and women welfare centres in the northeast to purchase and supply new clothes to celebrate Deepavali (Festival of Lights) which falls on October 24th Friday, said a ministry media unit press release Saturday.


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Wickremesinghe said to agree in principle to IDPs' resettlement in HSZ

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 October 2003, 16:51 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, in a meeting with a delegation of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Thursday, accepted 'in principle' that all internally displaced families are entitled to resettlement in their own lands and houses in the northeast province, regardless of whether those lands or houses come under areas declared as high security zones (HSZ) by the Sri Lanka Army, TNA sources said.
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Teachers protest 'Sinhalization' of Tamil schools

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 October 2003, 15:11 GMT]
The Twenty thousand-member strong Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union (CTTU) Monday warned that it would launch a massive agitation campaign in collaboration with Tamil political parties if the Western Provincial Council failed to stop posting Sinhalese teachers to Tamil medium schools. The People's Allaince (PA) controls the Western Provincial Council administration.
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