JVP mounts poster campaign against Peace Talks

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 July 2004, 10:56 GMT]
Jantha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), ultra leftist and Marxist coalition partner of United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government today began a poster campaign in Colombo and suburbs against pursuing peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelalm (LTTE), political sources from Colombo said.
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District Ayurveda Hospital opened in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 July 2004, 03:31 GMT]
Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), speaking after the ceremonial opening Monday of the Trincomalee District Ayurveda Hospital said that he was pleased that the opening was held on Black Tigers Day which he said was an important day for the liberation struggle of Tamil people. The Ayurveda Hospital is located at Kappalthurai, a resettled Tamil village along the Trincomalee-Colombo highway, about eight km off the east port town.
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Kumaratunga ally rejects LTTE proposal for restarting talks

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 July 2004, 13:35 GMT]
A senior leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, the main coalition partner of President Chandrika Kumaratunga's minority government Saturday declared that his party would not allow Colombo to restart Sri Lanka's long stalled peace talks on the basis of interim proposals submitted by the Liberation Tigers.
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Health workers plan hunger strike

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 June 2004, 00:10 GMT]
More than eighty thousand health sector workers struck work Monday in nearly 1270 government medical institutions in Sri Lanka demanding increases in pay for temporary and casual workers, removal of salary anomalies of the Registered Medical Officers (RMO) and integration of provincial health staff into central government service. Health Services Trade Union Alliance (HSTUA) organized the token strike, sources said.
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"UPFA government will prove parliamentary majority"- PM

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 June 2004, 05:55 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse Monday declared that his United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government would prove its majority in parliament when it meets on July 20 after elections to six-provicincial councils, scheduled to be held on July 10. "UPFA is prepared to face the challenge of the common opposition if it claimed to have a majority in parliament," said Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse addressing the first election rally in support of UPFA candidates contesting the North Central Provincial Council.
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Battle lines drawn to prove parliamentary majority

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 June 2004, 14:49 GMT]
Opposition parliamentarians in the Sri Lanka's thirteenth parliament Monday handed over a memorandum to the Speaker Mr.W.J.M.Lokkubandara to safeguard the parliamentary democracy. 114 parliamentarians from the United National Party (UNP), Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and Upcountry Peoples Front (UPF) signed the memorandum, parliamentary sources said.


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Norway persists as stalemate deepens

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 June 2004, 01:04 GMT]
The stalemate in Sri Lanka’s peace process continued this week, and even as Norwegian diplomats vowed to continue their shuttle diplomacy, President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s government hardened its stance on the agenda for talks.


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Sri Lanka's parliament adjourned for July 20 after disruption

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 June 2004, 10:22 GMT]
Speaker Mr.W.J.M.Lokkubandara Tuesday adjourned the Sri Lanka's parliament for July 20 after failing in his attempt to resolve the issue of administering oath to newly nominated parliamentarian JHU parliamentarian Venerable Akmeemana Dayaratna Thera. The Speaker announced his decision to postpone the parliament when it resumed its sitting Tuesday afternoon at about 2.30 p.m, parliamentary sources said.
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Parliament meets amid confusion over majority to ruling UPFA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 June 2004, 04:42 GMT]
Sri Lanka's parliament is meeting Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. to appoint standing committees and ministerial parliamentary consultative committees. Battle lines are drawn by the minority ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and the main opposition United National Front (UNF) to capture control of these committees, parliamentary sources in Colombo said.


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Foreign envoys to be briefed on JVP's stand on ISGA

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 June 2004, 21:00 GMT]
The Jathika Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), constituent of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Monday said that it would brief Colombo based foreign envoys the reasons for opposing the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposal submitted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for the northeast province, media sources in Colombo said.


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TNA MPs to meet LTTE political leadership Saturday

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 June 2004, 00:40 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians are scheduled to the meet Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Saturday to discuss the current political situation in the south and the latest developments in reviving the peace talks through Norwegian facilitation, sources said.
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'Committee to sort out differences in UPFA'

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 June 2004, 18:31 GMT]
The leaders of Sri Lanka Freedom party (SLFP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the two major constituents of ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), Tuesday night agreed at a discussion to appoint a committee to sort out the differences that have arisen in implementing the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two parties, sources said.
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Ruling Alliance facing crisis?

[TamilNet, Monday, 31 May 2004, 03:14 GMT]
Media reports from Colombo indicated cracks appearing within the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), as the marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), one of the mainconstituents of UPFA, sent a written communique to Sri Lanka's President Ms Kumaratunge accusing her of violating the MoU signed between the JVP and SLFP.


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Solheim's meeting with SL President rescheduled

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 May 2004, 18:49 GMT]
The Norwegian special peace envoy, Mr. Erik Solheim, is to meet Sri Lanka's President, Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge, after holding talks with the leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Kilinochchi Wednesday, State controlled Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) reported in its night news broadcast Tuesday.
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Divided Sinhala leadership poses danger to peace process- TNA

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 May 2004, 23:25 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Sunday expressed pessimism that it would be difficult to find a lasting political solution to the ethnic conflict through negotiations as the Sinhala political leadership is sharply divided on the question of resuming peace talks on the basis of Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) put forward by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).


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US condition to LTTE to lay down arms unacceptable - Sinhala journalist

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 May 2004, 07:45 GMT]
''The condition laid by the US government for the LTTE to lay down arms is not acceptable. The question of handing over arms would cease automatically when an acceptable political solution to the Tamil people is found through talks, accepting the self determination of Tamils and their traditional homeland concept,'' said Mr.Ranath Kumarasinghe, Feature Editor of Haraya, a Sinhala political paper, addressing a seminar on Peace and Media Saturday evening held at Trincomalee Town Hall.
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JVP holds discussions on peace process with allies

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 May 2004, 18:10 GMT]
The leadership of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a main constituent of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), has been holding intensive discussions with the other constituent political parties of the UPFA on the current position of the peace process, as a prelude to announcing its final stand on the Norwegian brokered peace talks between the UPFA government and the LTTE, JVP sources said Friday.


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'UPFA’s peace talk plans do not violate SLFP-JVP agreement' - JVP

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 May 2004, 19:39 GMT]
The peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, being considered by the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), do not violate the agreement reached by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna before the two parties joined to form the UPFA, said Mr. Wimal Weerawansa, the propaganda secretary of the JVP, speaking to journalists Thursday evening in Colombo.
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JVP vows street revolution against UNF

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 May 2004, 15:48 GMT]
The Marxist and Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Wednesday warned that it would launch a street revolution with the backing of masses if the main opposition United National Front (UNF) attempted to defeat the progressive policies of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance government in the parliament.
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JVP opposed to UPFA’s decision to talk only with LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 May 2004, 16:58 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s United People’s Freedom Alliance, led by President Chandrika Kumaratunge, in a statement Sunday said that the UPFA government would hold peace talks only with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, thus conceding the LTTE’s demand to be recognized as the ‘sole representatives’ of the Tamil people, according to wire reports. The Marxist and ultra-nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, one of the main constituents of the UPFA, has however announced it is opposed to the decision, Tamil press reports said.
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