Fasting monk rejects President's assurance

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 June 2005, 10:56 GMT]
Venerable Omalpe Sobitha Thera, parliamentarian of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) Friday morning informed a team of government politicians that he is not prepared to give up his fast unto death against the implementation of the joint mechanism, as he is not satisfied with the assurance of the President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge that she would not take final decision on the JM without Buddhist prelates' consensus.
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Sri Lanka will accept India's Air Defence System- Kadirgamar

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 June 2005, 10:41 GMT]
"[India's Air Defence system] is very much under discussion. We will accept it. We are looking into means how it could be done," said Minister Kadirgamar at the joint press briefing at the Foreign Ministry office in Colombo Friday. Mr Natwar Singh, India's Foreign Minister concurred "Defence cooperation agreement is in the process of being finalised, we are going through some procedures." Senior Foreign Ministry officials of both countries were present at the briefing which was held soon after the 6th session of the Sri Lanka -India Joint Commission in Colombo.
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JVP issues ultimatum for coalition break-up

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 June 2005, 05:53 GMT]
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the main political ally of ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government, informed on Friday at a press conference in Colombo that it will leave the UPFA coalition on 16th of June unless President Chandrika Kumaratunga gives up the idea of signing a Joint Mechanism with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) before June 15th midnight. The announcement was made by the JVP leader, Mr Somavanse Amarasinghe at Sri Lanka Foundation Institute in Colombo. The JVP has 39 seats in the 225-seat Parliament of Sri Lanka.
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No final decision on JM proposal without Mahanayakas' consensus- SL President

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 June 2005, 05:05 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunge Friday early morning sent a special message to the Mahanayake Theras of three Chapters regarding the controversy over the signing of the joint mechanism structure with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). "Final decision to sign the proposed Joint Mechanism will not be taken without the consensus of the three Mahanayakas," the president assured in her letter, the State controlled Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) announced in its Friday morning news bulletin.
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Buddhist High Priests issue ultimatum for abrogating JM

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 June 2005, 17:56 GMT]
High priests (Mahanayaka Theras) of all four Buddhist Chapters of Maha Sangha gave a 24-hour ultimatum to Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunge to make a clear statement on whether she intends to abrogate the Joint Mechanism proposal, Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), an extremist party of Buddhist monks said in a press release issued Thursday night in Colombo, sources said. Buddhist prelates who reach the position of Mahanayake Theras play a vital role in the thinking of the Government in power.
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Parliamentary proceedings disrupted second day

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 June 2005, 10:15 GMT]
Sri Lanka's parliament proceedings were disrupted again Wednesday when Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians protested that they cannot accept the statement Government of Sri Lanka made in the House on the pull out of additional troops deployed in Trincomalee town after the unlawful erection of a Buddha statue in the heart of town, sources said.


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Bikkhu Front begins fast in Colombo

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 June 2005, 09:53 GMT]
National Bhikku Front (NBF) Wednesday morning started a fast unto death campaign in front of Fort Railway Station, Colombo, protesting against the signing of Joint Mechanism proposal between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The proposal spells out administrative and funds disbursement arrangement for rehabilitation and reconstruction of tsunami destroyed coastal areas in the Northeast province.


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JVP warns Kumaratunga not to be the last of Bandaranaikes

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 June 2005, 07:46 GMT]
Mounting a scathing attack on President Chandrika Kumaratunga and her family, Mr.Somawanse Amarasinghe, leader of the marxist extreme Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the main political ally of ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government, warned on Tuesday that if Kumarathunga went ahead and signed the proposed joint-mechanism with the LTTE, she would be the "last of the Bandaranaikes".
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Samaraweera resigns from Media Minister post

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 June 2005, 14:46 GMT]
Mr.Mangala Samaraweera Tuesday gave up his Media Ministry portfolio, but continued to remain as Minister of Ports and Aviation, political sources in Colombo said. Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge has accepted Mr.Samaraweera's resignation sent on Tuesday, ruling party sources said.
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Thousands march in Pottuvil against buffer zone

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 June 2005, 16:16 GMT]
Around ten thousand protesters from all three communities from Pottuvil to Panama, jointly marched Monday morning from 8.00 AM to 12.00 AM demanding the removal of the 200 meter buffer zone. Demonstrators shouted slogans against the different restrictions, 38 meter buffer zone in Hambantota in the South as opposed to the 200 meter buffer zone imposed in NorthEast. The protest march organised by Pottuvil All Community Forum was backed up by a widely observed hartal. All shops in Pottuvil remained closed. Residents setup road blocks and burnt tires across major roads. Security was beefed up in Pottuvil by the Police, Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and the Special Task Force (STF) soldiers.
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Police blame political party for Sivaram murder - paper

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 June 2005, 14:17 GMT]
Sri Lankan Police have cracked the murder of journalist Sivaram Dharmaratnam but are keeping it under wraps until all suspects are arrested, The Sunday Leader newspaper claimed this week, adding a political party supportive of President Chandrika Kumaratunga's ruling coalition is to blame. The claim was echoed in by the Sunday Times’ defence column.
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Respect the decision of the judiciary in Trinco dispute - NPC

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 June 2005, 04:04 GMT]
Urging the Sri Lankan Government to implement the decisions of the judiciary regarding the dispute in Trincomalee in an impartial manner and deploring any threats to use violence to resolve the issue, the National Peace Council (NPC), a Colombo based Sri Lankan peace group, in a media release issued on Friday, said that the focus of public attention has been shifting to very negative issues due to the lack of progress in achieving agreement on Joint Mechanism on tsunami recovery. The organiation warned that the widespread protest which brought ordinary life in the Northeast to a halt on Friday points to the danger of escalation.
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Profile of a shadow war veteran

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 June 2005, 01:02 GMT]
The veteran intelligence officer, Lieutenant Colonel Nizam Muthaliff, was a central figure in the atrocity-punctuated paramilitary aspects of the counter-insurgency campaign against the LTTE in the early nineties then had a critical role in the deep penetration attacks on LTTE commanders and officials, the Tamil Guardian reported Wednesday.
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Sri Lanka under pressure over aid fiasco

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 June 2005, 14:44 GMT]
President Chandrika Kumaratunga on Wednesday denied claims that her government was mishandling billions of dollars donated by the international community to help Sri Lanka recover from December's devastating tsunami, press reports said. Meanwhile Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar denied that unwieldy bureaucracy and a lack of professionalism was to blame for the delays in post tsunami relief.
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Sri Lanka's President urged to make Bindunuwewa massacre report public

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 June 2005, 11:02 GMT]
"The fact that that not a single person could be held guilty for the mass murder of 28 Tamils in the protective custody of the State at Bindunuwewa will further increase the distrust of even the moderate Tamil minorities with the democratic institutions of Sri Lanka" stated Mr. Suhas Chakma, Director of Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) in a 24 page report issued on Thursday titled "Sri Lanka:Miscarriage of Justice". On 27 May 2005, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka acquitted four accused who were earlier sentenced to death by the High Court.
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Funeral of Major Muthalif held in Colombo

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 June 2005, 11:15 GMT]
Funeral of high ranking Military Intellligence Commanding Officer Major Mutalif (39), who was assassinated Monday by unidentified gunmen was held Wednesday morning at Dehiwela Mohideen burial grounds with full military honors, sources in Colombo said.
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Attorney General files plaint in Buddha statue case

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 June 2005, 00:05 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Attorney General (AG) Tuesday filed plaint seeking the Trincomalee District Court Judge Mr.S.Thiagendran to declare the construction of the Buddha statue on the State land as unlawful and to issue enjoining order preventing the accused party from making further improvement, alteration and building any new additions in the disputed land till the matter is resolved by the court, legal sources said.
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Economic embargo imposed in Batticaloa, Vaharai residents protest

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 May 2005, 17:14 GMT]
Large number of residents of Vaharai division in the Batticaloa district Tuesday morning staged a peaceful protest march demanding the withdrawal of economic embargo imposed recently by the Sri Lankan military, sources said. Last several days soldiers manning checkpoints in Batticaloa have been blocking civilians from transporting cement, building materials, fuel and other essential materials to the villages of Panichchankerni, Paalchenai, Kathiraveli, Kandalady, Uriyankattu and Mankerni which are located in LTTE controlled Vaharai division.
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UNP in major drive for activists - paper

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 May 2005, 02:51 GMT]
Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP), which is gradually building up its campaign for the next presidential election, has launched a major campaign to mobilize a 150,000 strong activist force to bolster its vote base, Sunday Times reported this week.
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Kumaratunge rejects UNP plea to pardon Dissanayake

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 May 2005, 13:39 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunge Friday rejected an appeal by main Opposition United National Party (UNP) to pardon and release the party's jailed National Organiser and former minister S.B Dissanayake, sources said. Mr Dissanayake was one-time Ms Kumaratunge's close confidante and champion minister.
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