Investigate SL Minister Bathiyutheen along with Basil Rajapaksa, Muslims demand UNP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 April 2015, 16:34 GMT]
The people of Mannaar, Puththa'lam and Vavuniyaa have started to raise their voices questioning the credibility of the ‘new’ SL regime in Colombo, which has failed to arrest and investigate SL Minister of Industry and Commerce Mr Rishad Bathiyutheen over allegations of misappropriation of funds. Basil Rajapaksa, who was the former SL Minister of ‘Economic Development’ and Mr Bathiyutheen, who was the SL Minister for Resettlement, have appropriated large sums of the funds obtained for resettling the war-affected people, sections of Muslims in Puththa'lam and Mannaar accuse. At a meeting held in Temple Trees on Friday for UNP members from Northern and North-Western Provinces, Muslim members raised their voices against entertaining Bathiyutheen with a minister portfolio instead of investigating him together with Mr Basil Rajapaksa, who is now detained for investigations.
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Victims demand immediate action against Colombo's squad in Ampaa'rai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 February 2015, 11:02 GMT]
The families of forcefully disappeared Tamil victims in Ampaa'rai district have demanded immediate arrest and action against Karuna Group paramilitary operative, K. Pushpakumar alias Iniyabarathy, who was the Ampaa'rai district coordinator of Mahinda Rajapaksa's UPFA and a member of the Eastern Provincial Council. After the entire Ampaa'rai district was brought under the control of the occupying Sri Lankan military in 2007, more than 200 Tamil youth have been reported missing in the district after arrest or abduction by Sri Lanka military operated squads. Iniyabarathy has been the key paramilitary operative operating a squad for the genocidal SL military in the district. Iniyabarathy is blamed for the assassination of veteran Tamil journalist Aiyathurai Nadesan in May 2004. Incumbent SL president Maithiripala Sirisena was also having a hand in the paramilitary operations in the East.
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UNP Batticaloa branch wants anti-people elements isolated from politics

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 January 2015, 23:49 GMT]
The District Organiser of the United National Party (UNP) in Batticaloa Mr Arasaretnam Sasitharan said that a resolution has been passed at the UNP Batticaloa District Executive Committee to the effect that anti-people elements and former paramilitary operatives, who were deployed under the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime, should not be absorbed into the UNP or the polity associated with the UNP in the new regime in Colombo. The resolution has named four persons who should be kept away from the politics of Maithiripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickramaisnge if UNP needs to win credibility among the Tamil public in Batticaloa district, Mr Sasitharan further said.
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New Tamil-Muslim equation engineered for Colombo-centric agenda

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 January 2015, 23:37 GMT]
Negotiations are under way for bringing in a new alliance among the political forces of Tamils and Tamil-speaking Muslims in the North and East that are orientated for collaboration with the Washington - New Delhi - Sinhala State agenda, reconfirming the Colombo-centric genocidal State, informed sources told TamilNet. This follows the electoral engineering in the island in which Tamils victimised in the US-designed war ending in genocide and Muslims internationally at loggerheads with the US views of imperialism were brought together to vote for a regime change that has put the USA at the helm of affairs. The follow-up ‘ground operations’ now take place in the North and East provincial councils and the first victim is likely to be the EPDP, which would be losing its opposition leadership in the NPC to Rishard Badurdeen's All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC), the sources further said.
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Sirisena declared SL President

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 January 2015, 09:50 GMT]
Sri Lankan Election Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya has officially declared Maithripala Sirisena as the new President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka around noon at his secretariat. Except the UPFA candidate Mahinda Rajapakse, all the other presidential candidates were present at the event.
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SL Paramilitary operatives threaten TNA supporters in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 January 2015, 12:38 GMT]
Paramilitary operatives of Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan, the former UPFA-appointed Chief Minister of Eastern Province, have threatened monitors appointed on behalf of the common opposition to monitor the polling stations at Chiththaa'ndi in Batticaloa, news sources in Batticaloa said. In the meantime, Iniyabarathy's paramilitary operatives in Ampaa'rai district have assaulted a TNA divisional councillor P. Vijayarasa near Thirukkoayil Peoples Bank.
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SL military targets TNA members waging Maithiripala propaganda in North

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 January 2015, 22:48 GMT]
SL police arrested five health labourers of Valikaamam North civic council at A'laveddi on Saturday, when they were putting up posters in support of Maithiripala Sirisena. The chairman of Valikaamam North Piratheasa Chapai (PS), S. Sugirthan of TNA had asked them to put up posters, news sources said. The arrested were allowed to go on bail on Sunday. Similarly, three TNA members were arrested earlier in Maanippaay for putting up posters in support of Maithiripala. In the meantime, SL military operatives, who came in a white van were trying to abduct four TNA activists in Ki'linochchi while they were on a Maithiripala propaganda mission. The Tamil youth have managed to escape from the abductors, news sources in Ki'linochchi said.
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UPFA deploys ‘Jihad’ operatives to harass Tamils in Mannaar to vote for Rajapaksa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 January 2015, 23:26 GMT]
Two village (GS) areas in Mannaar, surrounding the public ground of the Urban Council, where the visiting Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa is scheduled to stage his election campaign activities on Wednesday, have been rounded up by the Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) commandos, SL military soldiers and policemen since New Year eve. Government workers belonging to construction, road development and electricity departments are forced to work round the clock to finalise the stage for Rajapaksa. People from Chaavat-kaddu and Chinna-kaddu villages complain that normalcy has been disturbed and they were unable to observe New Year celebrations. The people have also been subjected to harassment by the operatives of SLFP ‘Blue Brigade’ that has occupied the city.
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Gotabhaya monitors Devananda's allegiance to Kumaratunga

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 January 2015, 11:09 GMT]
While welcoming the incumbent SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa to North and challenging the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in District Development Committee meetings with a pro-Colombo stance, SL minister and EPDP paramilitary leader Douglas Devananda, has also assured his personal allegiance to former SL President Chandrika Kumaratunga, informed sources in Jaffna told TamilNet. Sri Lankan military intelligence operatives under the direct command of SL presidential sibling Gotabhaya Rajapaksa have been questioning the close associates of Mr Devananda for his lack of interest in putting up Rajapaksa posters ahead of Rajapaksa's scheduled visit to Jaffna.
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TNA loses civic council to UPFA

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 31 December 2014, 22:22 GMT]
Four members of Pachchilaip-pa'l'li civic council, elected on TULF ticket, have defected to the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) of genocidal Sri Lanka on Wednesday, a day after TNA's Parliamentary Group leader R. Sampanthan urged Tamils to vote for the common opposition candidate in the South. In the meantime, the occupying SL military intelligence officers, who are loyal to SL president Mahinda Rajapaksa and UPFA politicians are trying to woo the support of leading TNA civic members in other civic councils in North by paying large sums of money to them, news sources in Jaffna told TamilNet.
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Sampanthan arrives from India, meets constituting party leaders

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 December 2014, 23:12 GMT]
R.Sampanthan, the parliamentary group leader of the Tamil National Alliance, who arrived in Colombo Sunday morning from his visit to India presided over a crucial meeting of the TNA co-ordinating committee at Madiwela parliamentary complex on Sunday night, news sources in Colombo told TamilNet.
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SLMC demanded Muslim coastal district in Ampaa'rai: UPFA minister

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 December 2014, 19:07 GMT]
SL Minister Hakeem wanted the Sri Lankan government to agree to carve out a coastal Muslim district from the present Ampaa'rai district, including Kalmunai, Chammaanthu'rai and Poththuuvil, before defecting to the common opposition front, said SL Environment and Renewable Energy Minister Susil Premajayantha. Mahinda Rajapakasa was opposed to the demand as it will affect the “territorial integrity and unitary character of the country,” the SL minister said. Commenting, Tamil activists in Vanni said Tamil-speaking people and their political parties should be concerned of the territorial integrity of the North-East and oppose both the SLFP and the UNP, who have been Sinhalicising and militarising the Tamil homeland for decades.
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SLMC to support Sirisena, Hakeem resigns ministerial portfolio

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 December 2014, 09:58 GMT]
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), a constituent of SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa's United Peoples Freedom Alliance on Sunday said it has decided to support the Opposition Common Candidate Maithripala Sirisena at the forthcoming SL Presidential Election.
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SLMC likely to back Sirisena in SL presidential election

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 December 2014, 14:08 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) has appealed to public servants that they should cast their votes according to their conscience giving 'preference' to 'democracy'. Mr. Rauf Hakim, the SL minister of Justice has said that the SLMC had not taken any decision as to whom the Muslim voters should cast their votes in the SL presidential election to take place on January 08. Postal voting of government servants is to begin on Tuesday.
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Controversial SL minister Badurdeen backs Sirisena

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 December 2014, 13:21 GMT]
Rishad Badurdeen, a cabinet minister in the Rajapaksa regime, who has been causing ethnic unrest between the Muslims and Tamils in the North has defected from SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa's UPFA and joined hands with the joint opposition on Monday, news sources in Colombo said. Mr Badurdeen, who is elected from North and Amir Ali, elected from East, together with many other All Ceylon Muslim Congress (ACMC) members have pledged their support to common opposition’s presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena a short while ago in Colombo.
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Premachandran denounces clandestine TNA deal with NDF

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 December 2014, 18:15 GMT]
The basic strength of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) led by the incumbent Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa, and the National Democratic Front (NDF) led by the Common Opposition Presidential candidate Mr Maithiripala Sirisena, has been solely depending on the Sinhala communal mindset South in the upcoming presidential election and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) cannot enter into an agreement with any of them, said the TNA media spokesman and Jaffna district TNA parliamentarian Suresh Premachchandran on Thursday. However, responding to Premachchandran, NDF's Maithiripala Sirisena said ‘individual politicians’ could make ‘different’ statements.
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Colombo threatens TNA civic members to crossover to UPFA

[TamilNet, Monday, 01 December 2014, 22:39 GMT]
The intelligence and political operatives who operate under the direct command of SL presidential siblings Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the SL defence secretary and Basil Rajapaksa, the economic minister have been trying to woo grassroots Tamil members of the civic bodies in the North and East to the side of the ruling UPFA in the South. US-trained SL military commander in Jaffna, Major General Udaya Perera, who has been transferred to Colombo and promoted to the rank of Director General General Staff at the Office of the Chief of Defence Staff is attempting to woo TNA urban Council chairpersons and deputy chairpersons in North to the side of the UPFA through Colombo-based Tamil operatives, informed sources in Jaffna said.
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SL military raped conscripted Tamil women after Rajapaksa meeting

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 November 2014, 09:07 GMT]
47 Eezham Tamil women from Mullaiththeevu, recently conscripted to the occupying SL military and put under the Civil Security Department (CSD), were taken to Mihintale on 22 Saturday when SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa was on a trip to the ‘sacred city’. After the president of genocidal Sri Lanka requested the Tamil women to engage in campaign supporting him, the SL soldiers were having a party. Some of the 47 Tamil women were raped by the Sinhala soldiers and the others were subjected to sexual harassment, one of the victims told TamilNet on Monday. The women were also sexually harassed in the bus on their way back to Mullaiththeevu.
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Rajapaksa’s budget passed by a majority 95 votes

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 November 2014, 15:08 GMT]
The 2015 Budget of the United People Freedom Alliance government was passed in Sri Lanka’s parliament Monday around 5:00 p.m. with a majority of ninety five votes amid speculation that more parliamentarians from the government ranks might cross over to the opposition supporting the Common Presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena, news sources in Colombo
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Maithiripala Sirisena of SLFP emerges as common opposition candidate contesting Rajapaksa

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 November 2014, 11:17 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) in the South on Friday decided to support Maithiripala Sirisena as the common candidate of the opposition to contest the upcoming Presidential election against the SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Currently, Mr. Maithiripala Sirisena is holding the post of Minister of Health in the Rajapaksa cabinet and the General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, a constituent of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA).
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