Pillayan sworn in as CM for Eastern Province

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 May 2008, 14:16 GMT]
Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan, the de-facto leader of the paramilitary-cum-political party, the TMVP, was sworn in as the Chief Minister for Eastern Province as M.L.A.M Hisbullah, who was competing with Chandrakanthan for the CM post, announced that he and two of his elected associates had decided to function separately. Mr. Hizbullah, who claimed that the swearing-in was unconstitutional boycotted the swearing-in ceremony which took place at the Sri Lankan Presidential Secretariat around 6:30 p.m. in front of the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
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Bomb explosion targets Police bus in Colombo, 10 killed, 95 wounded

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 May 2008, 07:00 GMT]
A motorbike fitted with a bomb rammed into a bus carrying riot control police personnel, few hundred meters away from the Sri Lankan Presidential Secretariat, Friday noon, killing 10 persons, 7 policemen and 3 civilians, and injuring 6 Sri Lanka Army soldiers, 30 policemen and 59 civilians. The explosion has taken place on Lotus Road inside the High Security area near the Hilton Hotel. 12 wounded policemen were in critical condition, according to medical sources in Colombo hospital.
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UPFA wins 'rigged' EPC election

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 May 2008, 05:40 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling UPFA alliance wins the Eastern Provincial Council (EPC) election with 18 seats and 2 bonus seats in the election held on Saturday with widespread rigging. The opposition UNP-SLMC alliance receives 15 seats, 1 seat for the JVP and 1 seat for Tamizh Democratic National Alliance. Meanwhile The Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) observed that the Eastern Provincial election, was not at all ‘free and fair’. Despite the rigging, the opposition UNP-SLMC alliance wins the Trincomalee district where it had promised to resettle displaced Tamils in Champoor.
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Widespread violence, last-hour ballot stuffing mark elections in East

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 May 2008, 18:40 GMT]
Paramilitary TMVP personnel entered several polling stations in the Tamil areas in Batticaloa and Trincomalee and stuffed the ballot boxes forcefully during the last-hour, before the ballot boxes were removed to counting centers in Batticaloa. Meanwhile, election officials said an average of 60% voter turn-out was registered across the three districts in the East. The polling was high in Sinhalese and Muslim areas while an average of 45-50% votes were registered in Tamil areas. The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) has recorded 64 incidents at 6:00 p.m. Saturday. Majority of major offenses were committed in Batticaloa district, followed by Ampaa'rai (12) and Trincomalee (08).
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CMEV: 25 complaints, 18 major offenses on EPC elections day

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 May 2008, 10:22 GMT]
Centre of Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) in an update issued at 2:30 p.m. in Sri Lanka said it had registered 18 major offenses such as murder, attempted murder, assault, threat and intimidation, impersonation and ballot stuffing. Of the major offences, 13 were reported from Batticaloa, 03 from Ampaa'rai and 02 from Trincomalee district. The CMEV has urged the Sri Lankan Election Commissioner to annul the poll in the stations it had identified. The TMVP Pillayan Group supporters were seen removing voter ink from their fingers and returning to vote repeatedly in Thambiluvil in Ampaa'rai and there has been a mortar attack close to polling stations in which four civilians were wounded.
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Gunmen shoot dead PS Deputy in Hambantota district

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 May 2008, 08:46 GMT]
Unidentified persons shot and killed the deputy chairman of Weeraketiya Pradesiya Sabah, Wijimunige Sumith of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) while he was returning home at Walasmulla in Hambantota District Friday night around 11:30, police said.
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Gunmen shoot dead PS Deputy in Hambantota district

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 May 2008, 08:46 GMT]
Unidentified persons shot and killed the deputy chairman of Weeraketiya Pradesiya Sabah, Wijimunige Sumith of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) while he was returning home at Walasmulla in Hambantota District Friday night around 11:30, police said.
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Polling begins in east

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 May 2008, 03:13 GMT]
Voting began in 1270 polling stations in three districts, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampaa'rai, of eastern province Saturday morning at 7:00 a.m. to elect 37 members to provincial council. This included two more members allocated for the party or independent group that polls highest number of votes. 1342 candidates from more than 18 political parties, and 56 independent groups are in the fray. The population of the province is 1,419,602 and 982,721 of them are eligible voters.
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EU pledges GSP+ concessions, approves $100m for Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 May 2008, 03:12 GMT]
The European Union wants Sri Lanka to receive GSP+ concession, the EU Ambassador in Sri Lanka Julian Wilson said this week, according to press reports Saturday. The EU has approved $100m in humanitarian and development funds for Sri Lanka, the Daily Mirror paper quoted him as saying. "I will only say that a lot of melodramatic rubbish has been written about the renewal of GSP+ in local press. The truth is simple if somewhat banal-the EU wants Sri Lanka to receive GSP+ again for the coming three years,” Mr. Wilson said at an EU event on Thursday.
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CMEV reports violence, possible misuse of state resources in east

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 May 2008, 02:21 GMT]
Center for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV), a civil society organization that reports on election violence, reported twelve complaints of major election violations in a report issued Friday. Incidents of "[m]isuse of State resources, distribution of state benefits, intimidation of party workers and other civilians" were also reported to CMEV, the report said. The CMEV urged the Election Commissioner "to take the speedy action necessary to ensure that such a violation of democratic rights does not take place."
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Rajapaksa prorogues SL Parliament

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 May 2008, 17:31 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa has moved on to prorogue the sittings of the Sri Lankan Parliament until June 05 according to an extra-ordinary gazette notification published Tuesday midnight. The move comes amid the increased media attention and the debate on SLA casualties in the Northern Front as four days were left for the Eastern provincial elections where oppositions parties including the SLMC, UNP and the JVP have protested against the armed paramilitary in the East. Meanwhile, in a specially arranged televised broadcast, Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa, promised the remote villagers in the east that they would get everything that they have aspired for.
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2 new parliamentarians sworn in

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 May 2008, 10:46 GMT]
Sarana Gunawardene and Dulip Wijesekara were sworn in as new parliamentarians from the Gampaha district Tuesday when the parliament met for the first time after the New Year recess. Speaker W.J.M.Lokkubandara administered oaths at the commencement of the session, parliamentary sources said.
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Pillayan group's attack on JVP triggers protest in Ampaa'rai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 May 2008, 08:34 GMT]
More than 15 armed personnel of Pillayan Group, the main paramilitary group in the east and a political party contesting on the ruling UPFA ticket in the forthcoming provincial council elections in the East, went amok against the members of the Sinhala extreme nationalist JVP, who were engaged on a house-to-house campaign in Thirukkoayil in Ampaa'rai district around 3:30 p.m., Monday. Nihal Galapaththi, Hambantota district JVP MP, headed a protest march in Ampaa'rai on Tuesday against the Pillayan Group.
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Two new MPs to take oaths on Tuesday

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 May 2008, 11:19 GMT]
Two new parliamentarians, Dulip Wijesekara and Sarana Gunawardene, from the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) will take oaths in Sri Lankan parliament when the parliament meets Tuesday after the New Year break, parliamentary sources said.
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Pillayan group warns voters in Ka'luvaagnchikkudi

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 May 2008, 09:21 GMT]
Paramilitary personnel of Pillayan group have warned the residents in Ka'luvaagnchikkudi located in Manmunai South and Eruvilpattu division of the Batticaloa district of adverse consequences if they fail to attend and vote for ruling UPFA alliance in the forthcoming elections for the Eastern Provincial Council. The group has referred to the low percentage of votes polled in the local elections and said such low attendance would 'not be tolerated' by the top hierarchy of the outfit.
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UPFA supporter's three-wheeler burnt in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 May 2008, 09:03 GMT]
A three-wheeler belonging to a Muslim aligned with the ruling United People Freedom Alliance (UPFA) in Ea'raavoor was burnt allegedly by another Muslim independent candidate and his supporters after a quarrel in the early hours of Saturday, Ea'raavoor Police said.
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UPFA observes May Day in east, UNP prayer at Kelaniya Vihare

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 May 2008, 06:52 GMT]
The May Day of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government led by Mahinda Rajapaksa is being held at Dehiyatttakandiya in Ampaarai district for the first time outside Colombo. Earlier the UPFA decided to hold its May Day rally at Ampaa'rai town. Later it changed the venue to Dehiyattakandiya sans procession due to security reasons, party sources said. The main opposition United National Party (UNP) first decided to hold its May Day rally in Kurunagala town in the northwestern province without procession. Later it canceled the rally and decided to observe prayer at Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihare.
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UNP accuses ruling party of breach of East election rules

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 April 2008, 13:55 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s main opposition United National Party (UNP) parliamentarian, Laxman Kiriyella, charged that the paramilitary Pillayan group, Peoples Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) and Eelam Peoples Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) that are jointly contesting Eastern Province Provincial (EPC) elections with the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), for carrying arms besides other violations during the campaign for the forthcoming Easter Provincial Council (EPC) election, UNP sources said.
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Grenade attack on EDF candidate’s house in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 April 2008, 10:05 GMT]
Unidentified persons lobbed a hand grenade Monday around 8:00 p.m on the house of the Eelavar Democratic Front (EDF) candidate contesting Eastern Province Council (EPC) election in Batticaloa, at Punnaichoalai in Batticaloa district, injuring the contestant’s wife, mother and brother besides causing severe damage to the walls and windows, sources in Batticaloa said. The contestant, however, escaped being injured.
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Police arrest UNP Muslim candidate in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 April 2008, 04:03 GMT]
Batticaloa police arrested a United National Party (UNP) candidate contesting for Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and six others Saturday morning at Oaddamaavadi after fighting broke out Friday night between supporters of United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and SLMC, sources in Batticaloa said. Tension prevails in the area as SLMC supporters accuse the police for being partial to a government minister from the area, the sources added.
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