JVP to contest alone in local council elections

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 February 2006, 15:56 GMT]
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the Sinhala Marxist party officially announced Tuesday that it has decided to contest alone in the forthcoming local authorities elections under its symbol 'Bell". The decision to contest alone was taken after the failure of the talks held between the JVP and the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) in the allocation of candidates under an election alliance, a JVP official said at a press briefing held Tuesday, sources said.
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No Tamil Eelam, only devolution within Unitary State- Rajapakse

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 February 2006, 12:57 GMT]
Ruling out demands by the Liberation Tigers for a separate homeland in the NorthEast, Sri Lanka's President Rajapakse in an interview with Reuters ahead of Geneva talks said, "This is a small country, where you can't have two states. I won't allow the country to be divided," he added. "You have to give up the concept of having two nations, or two countries … There is no Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka. There cannot be an Eelam."
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Political parties prepare strategy for local council elections

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 February 2006, 17:43 GMT]
All main political parties are to submit nominations to contest the forthcoming elections to three hundred and thirty local authorities in the island from Tuesday. The final day to submit nomination lists has been fixed for Thursday February 16. Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which worked for the victory of Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse at the last year presidential poll is to contest the local council election alone without forming an alliance with the ruling party, political sources said.
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Batticaloa local elections to select 128 councilors

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 February 2006, 13:25 GMT]
318,728 registered voters in twelve local authorities will go to polls to elect 128 councilors in the forthcoming election in the Batticaloa district, said Mr.T.Krishnandalingam, Batticaloa District Returning Officer and District Assistant Commissioner of Elections. One municipal council and one urban council are among the twelve local authorities, election department sources said.


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NCP Chief Minister appointed to lead Trincomalee development

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 February 2006, 16:43 GMT]
The President Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse has appointed Mr.Bertilal Dissanayake, Chief Minister of the North Central Province in charge of the development activities in the Trincomalee district. Mr.Dissanayake Monday presided over the conference held in Trincomalee district secretariat pertaining to the development of the district, district secretariat sources said.
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Political parties finalize nomination lists for local polls

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 February 2006, 11:51 GMT]
The Writ Application filed by the Peoples Action for the Free and Fair Election (PAFFREL), a poll monitoring body in Sri Lanka, seeking the Court of Appeal to postpone the scheduled local government election for a period of six months is to be taken up for inquiry Monday (February 6) while the leaders of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the ruling party and its allies, Sri Lanka Communist Party, Lanka Sama Samaja Party and few small parties are to finalize their deal at a meeting scheduled to be held on the same day at Temple Trees presided by President Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse, political sources said.
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UNP opposes parliament adjournment

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 February 2006, 19:50 GMT]
No bomb was recovered in the chamber of the parliament and the bomb scare was a ploy of the government to adjourn the parliament with a hidden agenda, said Mr.Tissa Attanayake, Deputy General Secretary of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) at a press briefing held Thursday evening.
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TNA MPs walk out of parliament in protest of killings, abduction

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 February 2006, 06:07 GMT]
If Colombo continued to allow provocative incidents take place in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled areas of the NorthEast, the peace talks planned between the Government and the LTTE would be in jeopardy, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has warned the Sri Lankan Parliament Wednesday. "This is a calculated move to disturb the talks to be held in Geneva between the Government and the LTTE. We demand that the Government to act urgently in this matter and take appropriate action to save the dialogue," Mavai Senathirajah, TNA MP for Jaffna District told a press conference after walking out of the Sri Lankan Parliament.
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State terrorism rising in NorthEast, say Tamil MPs

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 January 2006, 15:31 GMT]
"Violence and terror unleashed by the State armed forces is on the increase in the North East province. Fifty Tamil civilians have been abducted in the Jaffna district within few months. From December 1 to January 12 the State armed forces and para military groups in Jaffna have killed thirty-one Tamil civilians. Forty-two Tamils have been killed in other districts of the province," said leaders of Tamil political parties addressing a press briefing after their protest in parliament Tuesday morning.


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Speaker to rule on Dissanayake's future

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 January 2006, 13:19 GMT]
Speaker Mr.W.M.J.Lokkubandara is to officially inform the leaders of all political parties represented in the current parliament whether the jailed Mr.S.B.Dissanayake is still a parliamentarian or he has lost his post. Mr.Dissanayake is the National Organizer of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) and was jailed for defaming the Supreme Court, parliamentary sources said.


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JVP MP says he was attacked for "opposing shut down"

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 January 2006, 08:48 GMT]
A Sinhala nationalist JVP parliamentarian, who was attacked Friday in a suburb of Trincomalee town, has claimed, on Saturday, that he was attacked by a group of Sinhala persons for "opposing" the continuation of the shut down on the Tamil festival day, Thai Pongal. However, most of the Sinhala-owned shops remained closed in the east port town for the third day while Tamils remained in their homes to celebrate Thai Pongal. Two Sinhala nationalist organisations, backed by the JVP, had called for the four-day shut down in Trincomalee.
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Abeyapura residents attack JVP parliamentarian

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 January 2006, 14:34 GMT]
A group of Sinhalese residents in Abeyapura, a suburb in Trincomalee town, Friday afternoon around 4 p.m. attacked the vehicle of Mr.Jayantha Wijeysekara, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) parliamentarian of Trincomalee district when he was traveling through the area. Sri Lanka policemen rushed to the scene of the incident and rescued Mr Wijeysekara from being manhandled by the angry crowd, police sources said.


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JVP to contest local elections alone

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 January 2006, 17:25 GMT]
The politburo of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the Marxist Sinhala Nationalist Party, Monday decided to contest the forthcoming elections to local government authorities in Sri Lanka alone and not in alliance with other political parties, political sources said.
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JVP to move no-confidence motion on CWC MP

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 January 2006, 17:20 GMT]
The Parliamentary group of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Monday decided to move a no-confidence motion on Mr. M.Sachchithanandan, Deputy Chairman of Parliamentary Committees, when the parliament resumes its sittings on January 17, parliamentary sources in Colombo said. JVP accused Mr.Sachchithanandan of violating Sri Lanka's constitution by going to LTTE held Killinochchi to pay homage to the slain parliamentarian Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham.
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Cabinet size, luxury vehicles draw JVP fire

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 December 2005, 11:45 GMT]
The extreme Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Parliamentarian Nandana Gunatillake severely criticised the new Government of Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse during the Budget debate Tuesday for appointing a large cabinet thus violating the election pledge. He said the President has appointed all 60 Parliamentarians of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), including their allies, except SLFP Parliamentarian Nirupama Rajapakse, as Ministers and deputy Ministers in the SL Government.
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LTTE to intensify struggle for self-determination if reasonable political solution is not offered soon

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 November 2005, 12:04 GMT]
The leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in his annual Heroes’ Day statement made an urgent appeal to the new Sri Lanka Government of Mr Mahinda Rajapakse to offer a reasonable political solution to the ethnic conflict without further delay. The Tamil Tiger leader cautioned the government that his liberation organisation would intensify the struggle for self-determination and political independence if the new regime adopts a hard-line position and fails to resolve the problems of his people.
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Eye of the storm?

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 November 2005, 08:31 GMT]
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse’s first address to his Parliament had been keenly, albeit warily, anticipated by those concerned about the peace process. Elected on a hardline nationalist platform (and having easily drawn the majority of Sinhala votes), Rajapakse’s speech curiously received the press coverage of a pro-peace candidate: that he wanted to hold "direct" talks with the Liberation Tigers. But peace advocates paying close attention to his policy statement would have been thoroughly alarmed.
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Sovereignty fears

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 November 2005, 01:33 GMT]
The definition "supreme authority within a territory," captures the essential notion of sovereignty used to describe political authority of modern nation states. The origins of Sri Lanka’s long festering conflict lie in its unitary constitution which vests the exercise of sovereignty solely in the hands of Sinhala Buddhists. But Colombo wields no sovereign authority over nearly seventy percent of the island’s NorthEast. Radical Sinhala groups view the denial of their state’s sovereignty in areas controlled by the Liberation Tigers with extreme chagrin. Over the years, other events too have challenged Sri Lanka’s sovereignty.
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Don't seek Norwegian assistance, JVP tells Rajapakse

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 November 2005, 16:22 GMT]
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the Sinhala extreme nationalist party, Thursday said it would firmly oppose Sri Lankan President Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse seeking assistance from the Norwegian Government to facilitate in the peace process between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL). Mr. Somawanse Amarasinghe, the leader of the JVP reiterated his party's position at a press briefing held at the National Library auditorium in Colombo.
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SL Supreme Court suspends P-TOMS inquiry

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 November 2005, 17:58 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Supreme Court Monday suspended the inquiry into the Post Tsunami Operations Management Structure (P-TOMS) petition. Chief Justice Sarath N.Silva announced that the inquiry into the petitions filed against the implementation of the P-TOMS is suspended indefinitely. The Chief Justice further extended the interim injunction on the implementation of the P-TOMS indefinitely, legal sources said.
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