Monitoring Mission Chief arrives Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 02 March 2002, 12:06 GMT]
The Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Retired Norwegian Army General Trond Furuhovde arrived in Colombo Saturday morning, accompanied by four other Norwegian monitors. Monitors from Finland and Sweden are also expected to arrive shortly, government sources said. The sixteen-member Monitoring Mission comprising officials from Nordic countries was set up according to the permanent cease-fire agreement signed between the Sri Lanka government and the Liberation Tigers last month.
Full story >>

Darkness looms over SL as power crisis deepens

[TamilNet, Thursday, 28 February 2002, 16:43 GMT]
The United National Front government Thursday announced that the present two and a half hour power cut would be extended to five hours from Friday as the water level of the reservoirs has decreased drastically. The Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe would issue a statement Friday regarding the island's power crisis, government officials said.
Full story >>

Parliamentary debate date on MOU advanced

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 February 2002, 16:40 GMT]
The Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe Monday evening decided to summon the parliament on March 4 to debate the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Earlier the parliament was scheduled to meet on March 5.
Full story >>

Chandrika urged not to derail the peace process

[TamilNet, Sunday, 24 February 2002, 15:52 GMT]
The Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) Sunday, a constituent of the main opposition People's Alliance (PA) appealed to President Chandrika Kumaratunge and the leaders of other political parties not to derail the peace process which is gathering momentum after signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the United National Front (UNF) government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Full story >>

'PTA will not be repealed' -Prime Minister

[TamilNet, Sunday, 24 February 2002, 12:00 GMT]
"We cannot be too rigid in regard to the talks. We have to first bring the LTTE to the negotiating table. We should not put too many prohibitions, too many restrictions, and too many conditions that would prevent them from coming to the negotiating table.
Full story >>

UNF rejects President's accusation on truce signing

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 February 2002, 17:08 GMT]
The United National Front (UNF) government Saturday rejected the accusations made by the Presidential Secretariat on the cease-fire agreement signed between the government and the Liberation Tigers were entirely incorrect. The Presidential Secretariat Friday blamed the UNF government that it signed the Memorandum of Understanding without informing the Cabinet.
Full story >>

Kumaratunga expresses 'shock and dismay' over truce signing

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 February 2002, 19:15 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, expressed her "shock and dismay" at the government's hurried signing of a permanent ceasefire with the Liberation Tigers. In a statement released by the Presidential Secretariat, she lashed out at her arch-rival Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for not seeking her prior approval, describing his entering into the truce as "an undemocratic act."
Full story >>

UNF govt to hold parliamentary debate on MoU

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 February 2002, 12:02 GMT]
The United National Front government said Thursday that it is willing to conduct a full parliamentary debate on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the government and the Liberation Tigers as soon as it is signed. "The MoU between the UNF government and the Liberation Tigers has not yet been finalised. The meeting of leaders of the political parties represented in the parliament would be summoned to fix the date for the debate, once the MoU came into force. The government is willing to hold a full debate on it if the opposition wanted," Mr.W.J.M.Loku Bandara, Leader of the House and Minister of Justice told parliament Thursday morning.
Full story >>

Gen. Ratwatte indicted in massacre case

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 February 2002, 17:02 GMT]
The Attorney General Wednesday decided to indict the thirty-three suspects, including General Ratwatte in the Udathalawinne Murder case before a Trial at Bar inquiry. At a conference presided by the AG at his office Wednesday afternoon, it was decided to request the Chief Justice to nominate three High Court judges to the Trial at Bar inquiry, legal sources said. AG department sources said that this decision was taken to treat the Udathalawinne murder case as a special one.
Full story >>

“Remove fishing ban , release PTA suspects" -TNA

[TamilNet, Sunday, 03 February 2002, 15:51 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance ( TNA ) Sunday appealed to President Chandrika Kumaratunge to exercise her wide power to release all Tamil political prisoners who have been detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA ) under the general amnesty. The TNA further appealed to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe to take urgent steps to remove fishing ban in Jaffna district.
Full story >>

Amnesty slams zero prosecutions for rape in military custody

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 January 2002, 12:48 GMT]
Complaints of rape in custody by army, police and navy officials increased markedly in Sri Lanka last year, Amnesty International said in a new report published Monday. Amnesty said rapes in the context of armed conflict "are now recognized as a war crime and, when committed on a systematic basis or large scale, a crime against humanity."
Full story >>

Tamil parties unite in Constitutional Council nomination

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 January 2002, 16:19 GMT]
A retired High Court Judge Mr.T.Suntharalingam has been nominated to the eleven member constitutional council which is to be appointed under the 17th amendment to the constitution. Leaders of Tamil political parties represented in the parliament Thursday unanimously nominated Mr.Suntharalingam as the representative of the Sri Lanka Tamils in the Constitutional Council.
Full story >>

Norwegian delegation "cautiously optimistic"

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 January 2002, 19:32 GMT]
The Norwegian peace delegation Friday expressed cautious optimism over finding a peaceful solution to the ethnic conflict in the island. The delegation leader Mr.Vidar Helgeson, Norway's Deputy Foreign Minister, said there was increased level of confidence between the parties concerned.
Full story >>

Jaffna students warn of protests

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 January 2002, 00:08 GMT]
The Jaffna Technical College Students' Union (JTCSU) has appealed to the Prime Minister, Mr.Ranil Wickremesinghe, to take immediate steps to release Jaffna university student Mr. Krishnasamy Thivyan who has been detained since 2 July 2001. "Students of the Jaffna Technical College and Jaffna Higher Technical Institute would organise a mass agitation in the peninsula if Thivyan is not released immediately," the JTCSU said in a memorandum sent to Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe Tuesday.
Full story >>

UNF minister Atukorale dead

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 January 2002, 12:26 GMT]
A senior minister in the newly formed United National Front (UNF) government Mr.Gamini Atukorale (50) passed away Tuesday early morning at his residence, party sources said. Inmates found him unconscious in bed about four in the morning. Immediately medical officer was summoned. Medical sources said he succumbed to death due to massive heart attack.
Full story >>

Ranil urged to disarm EPDP

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 December 2001, 19:57 GMT]
The Jaffna University Students' Union (JUSU) Friday requested the Prime Minister to take immediate steps to disarm all para military Tamil groups including the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) in areas held by government troops. "The retention of arms by such para military groups, including EPDP constitutes imminent danger to Tamil civilians and journalists in the Jaffna district," the JUSU said in a memorandum sent Friday to the Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe.
Full story >>

PM officially requests Norway's assistance

[TamilNet, Thursday, 27 December 2001, 19:53 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe Thursday officially requested the government of Norway to recommence its facilitator role with regards to bringing about negotiations with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Mr. Wickremasinghe made his request in a telephone conversation with the Norwegian Prime Minister Thursday morning, a press communiqué released by the Prime Minister's office in Colombo said.
Full story >>

LTTE official visits SLA held areas in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 December 2001, 13:05 GMT]
An official of the Liberation Tigers visited areas held by the Sri Lankan security forces in Batticaloa south Wednesday. 'Thurai', the official in charge of the LTTE's dissemination division for the Batticaloa and Ampara districts had discussions with an officer of the Special Task Force (STF) at the Paddiruppu Bridge, a main entry point 24 kilometres south of the eastern town, around 10 a.m. Wednesday morning before proceeding to visit Kaluwanchikudy town and the villages to its north with a group of fighters.
Full story >>

Tamils to shun next Parliament if no solution -TNA

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 December 2001, 18:13 GMT]
"No self respecting Tamil would enter the next parliament if a just and permanent solution is not found to the Tamil national question by this parliament," declared Mr. R. Sampanthan, MP, the parliamentary group leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the 12th parliament Wednesday.
Full story >>

Amnesty urges human rights agenda for new PM

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 December 2001, 00:34 GMT]
Ahead of the first sitting this week by Sri Lanka’s new Parliament, Amnesty International, the human rights watchdog Tuesday wrote to recently-elected Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe about human rights concerns in the country, and called for an end to impunity for violators, faster investigations of cases and sought assurances executions would not be resumed. Amnesty also called for a review of Sri Lanka’s notorious Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and “an investigative body fully independent of the police.”
Full story >>