JM tabled, pandemoniam in Sri Lanka Parliament

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 June 2005, 03:38 GMT]
As Minister Mr Maithiripala Sirisena, Leader of the House, began to read the Joint Mechanism proposal in Sri Lanka's Parliament at 9.45am Friday, parliamentarians belonging to marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), including its propaganda Secretary Wimal Weerawanse, started shouting disrupting the parliamentary session in progress. Parliamentary sources said the session has been suspended for ten minutes due to continuous disruption of the proceedings. Copies of the proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Establishment of a Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure (P-TOMS) were distributed to all parliamentarians in three languages.
Full story >>

JVP to observe day of "Resistance" over PTOMS

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 June 2005, 14:50 GMT]
While Norwegian facilitators continued their shuttle diplomacy to get the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to come to an agreement on signing the aid deal, both supporters of aid deal and opposition groups intensified their campaigns in Colombo. Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the marxist extreme Sinhala nationalist party, said it will start an island-wide campaign against the aid deal beginning from capital Colombo Friday. Mr Wimal Weerawanse, the powerful propaganda secretary of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) declared Friday as a "Day of Resistance."
Full story >>

Defeat the minority NGO clique, Weerawanse tells SLFP Ministers

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 June 2005, 07:23 GMT]
Mr.Wimal Weerawanse, parliamentary group leader of the JVP, in a special statement soon after the parliament reconvened on Wednesday, thanking the Ministers Anura Bandaranaike, Mangala Samaraweera, Lakshman Kadirgamar, Siripala de Silva, Susil Premajayanth, Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse for their co-operation, said: "We, on behalf of the inspiration of millions of people, wish that you will be able to defeat the minority NGO clique which has wriggled its way into the Alliance government to destroy it." Mr. Weerawanse added that the JVP will function as an independent group of the opposition as announced earlier.
Full story >>

SL parliament meets, JM not tabled

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 June 2005, 06:13 GMT]
Sri Lanka's parliament reconvened Wednesday for the first time after Sinhala Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), withdrew its support to the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government last week over the Joint Mechanism structure to be signed with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which is to facilitate the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the tsunami destroyed coastal areas in the northeast province. The government did not table any document or statement in the parliament on the joint mechanism proposal as widely speculated in the political circles.
Full story >>

SL Parliament to meet with JVP in opposition

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 June 2005, 00:29 GMT]
Sri Lanka's parliament is scheduled to meet Wednesday for the first time after the Marxist Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) withdrew its support to the 14-month-old United Peoples' Freedom Alliance government (UPFA). JVP, a major constituent of the ruling alliance, and Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) signed an agreement to form UPFA on 20 January 2004 in Colombo.
Full story >>

Alliance faces test in WPC after JVP pullout

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 June 2005, 18:58 GMT]
The fate of the elected Western Provincial Council (WPC) will be decided by Governor Mr.Alavi Mowlana when he meets leaders of the United People Freedom Alliance (UPFA), United National Party (UNP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), political sources said. JVP withdrew from the UPFA last week precipitating a crisis in WPC governing coalition.
Full story >>

CTTU plans protests over teacher shortage, error-filled text books

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 June 2005, 10:31 GMT]
The Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union (CTTU) said Sunday that it will organize trade union action if the Ministry of Education fails to take constructive measures to implement several demands including setting up of a separate Tamil Administrative Unit in the ministry before July 25. As a first step the CTTU will hold a one-day token strike after the deadline expires, said Mr.N.Rajanathan, and Mr.T Mahasivam, President and General Secretary of the CTTU briefing the press after the conclusion of the Working Committee meeting held in Trincomalee.
Full story >>

Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union elects new President

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 June 2005, 18:12 GMT]
Mr.Rajanathan, Principal of the Trincomalee Vigneswara Maha Vidyalayam was Sunday elected as the president of the 20,000 member-strong Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union (CTTU). He was unanimously elected to the post of President at the CTTU Working Committee meeting held at the Trincomalee Vigneswara Maha Vidyalayam.
Full story >>

TNA, UNP discuss aid deal

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 June 2005, 17:15 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Sunday appealed to the main opposition United National Party (UNP) to openly declare its full support to the joint mechanism proposal and to insist that the Sri Lanka Government sign the agreement before tabling it in the parliament. TNA parliamentary delegation led by its leader Mr.R.Sampanthan met with Opposition Leader Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, Sunday afternoon and held discussions regarding the current political crisis following the withdrawal of the Sinhala Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) from the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, TNA sources said.
Full story >>

TNA urges Colombo to sign aid deal

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 June 2005, 09:06 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Saturday appealed to the Sri Lanka Government to sign the post-Tsunami agreement with the LTTE as agreed between the Government and the LTTE with Norwegian facilitation. Noting that the main barrier to signing the agreement, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), has quit the alliance, the TNA said it would support fully all steps taken in the right direction by the minority Government.
Full story >>

Aid deal not final, says Kumaratunga

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 June 2005, 10:28 GMT]
Responding to a letter from the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) which listed JVP's reasons for quitting the alliance, Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunga said Thursday that a final document for the Joint Mechanism has not been formulated. She added that the proposed mechanism does not go beyond the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) signed by Ranil Wickremesinghe and that the mechanism will not in any way jeopardize the sovereignty or integrity of Sri Lanka. Political observers in Colombo noted that as no time frame has been fixed for signing the proposal, more political maneuvering and delay in finalizing the aid deal can be expected.
Full story >>

Donor pressure ‘breached Buddhist hegemony’- paper

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 June 2005, 00:05 GMT]
Hailing the international donor community’s insistence on a joint mechanism for tsunami aid, the Tamil Guardian newspaper this week said this had forced Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga to face down powerful Buddhist clergy and Sinhala ultranationalists. “This breach in Buddhist hegemony must be widened … if peace and, in particular, ethnic reconciliation is to be possible in Sri Lanka,” the paper argued in its latest editorial.
Full story >>

Government stays, but will its power? - paper

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 June 2005, 17:38 GMT]
Despite the exit of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a key Parliamentary ally, the stability of Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunga’s government is assured, not because of its inherent strength, but because none of the other parties want an election at this juncture, Jaffna's Uthayan newspaper argued in its editorial Thursday.
Full story >>

JVP leaves coalition Government

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 June 2005, 05:14 GMT]
Mr. Somawanse Amerasinghe, leader of the marxist extreme Sinhala nationalist party, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Thursday officially announced that his party has left the Government of the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) with effect from Wednesday midnight. "There is no more talk with the Government. We had left from the United People Front Alliance (UPFA) Government", Mr. Amerasinghe underlined. "My party will sit in opposition in the Parliament," he said, addressing a two-hours long press conference at the Colombo National Library Auditorium Thursday morning. The JVP has 39 seats in the 225-seat Parliament of Sri Lanka.
Full story >>

Demonstrators urge SL President to sign aid deal, resume peace talks

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 June 2005, 21:39 GMT]
Representatives from 42 civil society organizations, leftist parties and trade unions, demonstrated in support of the proposed Post Tsunami Operational Management Structure (PTOMS), previously called Joint Mechanism (JM), opposite the state controlled Lake House, on Wednesday from 4.30 PM to 6.30 PM. The demonstrators shouted slogans against the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and demanded the Government to banish Mr. Somawanse Amerasinghe, the leader of the JVP, from Sri Lanka. The demonstration was oraganised by the HIRU Group that works against chauvinism in southern Sri Lanka.
Full story >>

JVP leaves UPFA, calls press conference on Thursday

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 June 2005, 18:39 GMT]
Mr.Somawanse Amerasinghe, leader of the marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) said Wednesday evening in Kandy that the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) will not be in power on Thursday if Sri Lanka’s President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge does not revoke her decision to sign the joint mechanism proposal with the LTTE before 11.59 PM Wednesday. Mr.Amarasinghe made this remark when addressing the JVP district conference in Kandy this evening, sources said. In the meantime, JVP minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake told media in Colombo that JVP has dispatched letters informing their decision to leave the UPFA alliance to the President and to the Prime Minister, sources in Colombo said.
Full story >>

JVP urged to reconsider decision to quit

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 June 2005, 10:55 GMT]
Mr.Susil Premajayanth, General Secretary of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and Mr.Maithiripala Sirisena, General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Wednesday sent urgent written messages to Mr.Tilvin Silva, General Secretary of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) to reconsider the decision to leave the UPFA government over the controversial joint mechanism proposal, political sources said.
Full story >>

New alliance with SLFP dissidents imminent- JVP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 June 2005, 01:29 GMT]
The Marxist coalition partner Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) warned Tuesday that there will not be a United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government in Sri Lanka after Wednesday midnight. "We would be forming a new alliance on Thursday with the support of some UPFA senior ministers opposed to the Joint Mechanism," said Mr.Tilvin Silva, General Secretary of the JVP, addressing the public meeting held Tuesday evening in Lipton's Square at the conclusion of the protest march, sources said.
Full story >>

JVP leads protest march in Colombo against aid deal

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 June 2005, 12:14 GMT]
More than 10,000 supporters of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), extreme nationalist ruling coalition ally, participated in a protest Campaign against the Joint mechanism (JM) proposal today Tuesday at 2.00pm, sources in Colombo said. The march started from Borella Campel Grounds, passed through Maradana and ended near the Colombo Municipal Council offices. The protesters after shouting slogans against the aid deal proposal continued their march to the Lipton round about where they dispersed.


Full story >>

JVP reiterates threat to quit ruling coalition over aid deal

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 June 2005, 00:29 GMT]
Leaders of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), marxist coalition partner of the ruling allliance, demanded a written statement from Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge that the Joint Mechanism proposal will not be signed. "If this written assurance is not forthcoming JVP will leave the ruling coalition, the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), on 16 June. We will also agitate for the resignation of the President," said JVP leader Somawansa Amarasinghe at a meeting in Galle Saturday evening.
Full story >>