TNA presents sole opposition to 2007 budget

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 November 2006, 00:32 GMT]
Sri Lanka's parliament Wednesday adopted the second reading of the 2007 Budget with a majority of 115 votes. 133 members voted for the budget and eighteen voted against, parliamentary sources said. All eighteen Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians opposed the budget.
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Indian Foreign Secretary to visit Colombo Wednesday

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 November 2006, 03:27 GMT]
Mr.Shiv Shankar Menon, India's Foreign Secretary, is scheduled to arrive in Colombo on November 22 to hand over a special message from Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse before the latter visits New Delhi, media sources in Colombo said. Mr.Shiv Shankar Menon is to meet Mahinda Rajapakse on 23 November.
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UNP demands inquiry into Vaharai killings

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 November 2006, 02:46 GMT]
Mr.Tissa Attanayake, General Secretary of the UNP, the main opposition United National Party (UNP), in a statement released in Colombo Thursday, condemned the killing of civilians in Vaharai division in Batticaloa district and called on the government to hold immediate proper inquiry into this tragedy, sources said.
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TNA parliamentarians meet Wickremasinghe

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 November 2006, 10:54 GMT]
Nineteen of the twenty two Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians Tuesday met with Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP), at the latter's request and held discussions on the urgency of bringing normalcy in the North East, legalising the merger of the two provinces, and the opening of the land route A9 to Jaffna peninsula, political sources in Colombo said.
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JVP to meet Rajapakse Tuesday

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 November 2006, 02:17 GMT]
The Sinhala Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) is reported to have agreed to meet Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse on Tuesday to discuss matters related to latest political development in the island, political sources in Colombo said. This will be first the time both party leaders are to meet since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Sri Lanka Freedom party (SLFP), main constituent of the United Peoples Alliance (UPFA) government, and the main opposition United National Party (UNP).
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UNP to participate in APRC meeting

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 November 2006, 11:28 GMT]
Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) has nominated parliamentarian Professor G.L.Peiris, and Mr.K.N.Choksy, former Finance Minister to participate in the All Party Representative Council (APRC) meeting. They will for the first time attend the APRC meeting scheduled to be held on Monday.
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UNP to strengthen rank-and-file voices on MoU

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 November 2006, 10:18 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) is to hold seminars and discussions at district level to educate the rank and file members on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Sri Lanka Freedom party (SLFP), the main constituent of the ruling United Peoples' Freedom Alliance (UPFA) last month, that gave top priority to solving ethnic conflict, political sources in Colombo said.
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Rajapakse, Wickremesinghe to co-chair MoU monitoring committee

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 October 2006, 14:47 GMT]
The high level committee appointed to monitor the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), and the main opposition United National Party (UNP), is to co-chaired by Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse and the opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe, political sources in Colombo said.


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Rajapakse, Wickremesinghe meet prior to Geneva peace talks

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2006, 09:37 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse and Ranil Wickremasinghe, Leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP), Friday morning met at Temple Trees in Colombo and discussed the issues related implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the UNP and monitoring MoU's progress, political sources in Colombo said.
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Ruling SLFP, opposition UNP sign MoU

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 October 2006, 08:04 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government and the main opposition United National Party (UNP) Monday signed a 10-clause Memorandum of Understanding to implement a four point common national agenda. The UNP, under the 2 year long MoU, said it would "extend support to the Government in the pursuit of a negotiated settlement to the on-going conflict while opposing terrorism in all its manifestations and upholding human rights."
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Cabinet to meet to finalize MoU

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 October 2006, 15:19 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse has summoned a special cabinet meeting Monday to decide on the final draft of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which is to be signed with the main opposition United National Party (UNP) to implement the agreed six identified issues under the common national agenda giving top priority to peace process, sources said.
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Rajapakse briefs JHU, UPFA allies on MoU

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 October 2006, 16:15 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse in the capacity of the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) briefed the constituent parties of his United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and all monks party Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) in two separate discussions held Saturday on the details of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the SLFP and the main opposition United National Party (UNP), political sources in Colombo said.


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Rajapakse, Wickremasinghe to meet to finalise MoU

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 October 2006, 11:36 GMT]
President Mahinda Rajapakse in the capacity of the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) are scheduled to meet on Saturday or Sunday to finalise the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and the basis for power-sharing, sources said.


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UNP to decide Monday on joining UPFA cabinet

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 October 2006, 17:23 GMT]
The working committee of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) is scheduled to meet Monday to take a decision whether to join the Cabinet of Ministers in the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government and finalise the draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to be signed with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the main constituent of the ruling UPFA, political sources said.


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Budget support conditional on peace agenda- Wickremasinghe

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 October 2006, 01:34 GMT]
"We will not oppose the Budget of the government once the peace process is on the track moving forward," said Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) addressing a press conference held at Cambridge Place Thursday. The United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government is to table its Budget for the year 2007 in the second week of November, parliamentary sources in Colombo said.
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Rajapakse-Wickremasinghe MoU to be signed late October

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 October 2006, 11:53 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse and leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP), Ranil Wickremasinghe, Thursday met and discussed in detail regarding the implementation of six point programme agreed upon by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and the UNP following four rounds of talks, political sources in Colombo said.
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Rajapakse, Wickremasinghe to meet Thursday to finalize MoU

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 October 2006, 01:56 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe are scheduled to meet Thursday to finalize the draft of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will outline the understandings reached between the two parties in resolving national issues. Members of the delegations of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and the main opposition United National Party (UNP) who participated in the four rounds of talks will also attend the discussions, political sources in Colombo said.
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Rajapakse, Wickremesinghe to meet before signing MoU

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 16:19 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse and Leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, are scheduled to meet Tuesday before signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), UNP general secretary Tissa Attanayake said Saturday.
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Political package to be prepared before GoSL-LTTE peace talks

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 16:04 GMT]
Political package for solving the ethnic crisis would be prepared by the All Party Conference (APC) before the peace talks between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which is scheduled to begin during the last week of October, APC Chairman Professor Tissa Vitarana said Saturday.
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JVP protesters march in thousands against Co-Chairs, Norway

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 October 2006, 21:55 GMT]
Thousands of Sinahala nationalist protesters marched against Co-Chairs involvement and Norwegian facilitation in the Sri Lankan peace process Wednesday evening in Colombo. The Sinhala nationalist party, the JVP, launched the protest campaign under a coalition named "Joint Front for Protection of Nation" that comprised 12 pro JVP trade unions, University Students Association and National Bhikku Front.
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