"Minorities have right to administer their areas" - Vasudeva

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 November 2003, 00:03 GMT]
"Tamils and Muslims in the northeast have a right to set up their administration in their traditional areas under the devolution of power. No one can deny this right," said veteran trade unionist and the national organizer of the Democratic Left Front(DLF), Mr.Vasudeva Nanayakkara, at the second annual general meeting of the DLF held Saturday evening at the auditorium of the Colombo library, media sources said.


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Sinhala nationalists burn EU commissioner’s effigy

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 November 2003, 06:19 GMT]
Sinhala nationalist protestors burnt an effigy of European’s Union Commissioner for External Affairs, Mr. Chris Patten in the busy business hub of downtown Colombo Tuesday moring. Mr. Patten arrived in Sri Lanka’s capital Tuesday for meetings with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, President Kumaratunga and the leader of the Liberation Tigers, Mr. Veluppillai Pirapaharan.
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Paper slams EU peace visit as "pig headed act"

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 November 2003, 08:27 GMT]
Commissioner of External Affairs of the European Union, Mr. Chris Patten’s visit to Sri Lanka next week is expected to draw strong protests from Sinhala nationalists, political observers in Colombo said. ‘The Island’, an English daily published by President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s uncle, slammed Mr. Patten’s plan to meet the Liberation Tigers in Kilinochchi next Tuesday as a “pig headed act” in a prominent front-page editorial Saturday. “This is bloody European gumption and insolence of the highest order”, the paper said.
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SL Speaker to face no-confidence motion

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 November 2003, 11:34 GMT]
The leaderships of Sri Lanka's main opposition Peoples Alliance (PA) and the Sinhala nationalist, Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Thursday decided to collect signatures of parliamentarians to move a no-confidence motion against the Sri Lanka Speaker Mr.Joseph Michael Perera stating he had no power to challenge the proclamation of the President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge proroguing parliament, political sources said.


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SLFP- JVP electoral alliance to be decided Monday

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 November 2003, 18:26 GMT]
An emergency meeting of the central working committee of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), chief constituent of the main opposition Peoples Alliance (PA) will be held Monday at the President House to decide on forging a political and electoral alliance with Sinhala nationalist cum Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and to decide the future course of action to solve the current political crisis, political observers said Sunday.


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Sri Lanka's President faces Hobson's choice - Sunday Leader

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 November 2003, 13:14 GMT]
In a scathing editorial criticising Sri Lanka's President for endangering the peace process by her "precipitate and stupid" actions of proroguing the parliament and sacking the Defense, Interior and Communication Ministers, the Sunday Leader, a popular weekly published in Colombo said, "Ms. Kumaratunge now faces Hobson's choice: "She cannot preserve the status quo and govern; neither can she call an election and hope to come close to victory.""


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Speaker undecided on reconvening parliament

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 November 2003, 10:32 GMT]
The Speaker Mr. Joseph Michael Perera said Thursday that no one has asked him to reconvene the parliament before 19th November responding to a written request from a group of opposition parties that parliament should not be reconvened before the stipulated date fixed by the President in her proclamation proroguing the parliament, parliamentary sources said.
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SL President, Prime Minister brief their constituent parties

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 November 2003, 10:28 GMT]
President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge and Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe Thursday began separately briefing their constituent parties in the main opposition People Alliance (PA) and the United National Front (UNF) respectively with regard to the outcome of their talks held Wednesday at the Presidential House on the current political crisis, political sources said.
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Speaker to entertain request to reconvene parliament

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 November 2003, 08:30 GMT]
The Speaker of the Parliament, Mr.Joseph Michael Perera, Monday requested the leaders of the political parties who had attended a meeting in his chamber to submit a written request to reconvene the parliament before Tuesday. The main opposition Peoples Alliance (PA) and the Sinhala nationalist -Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) boycotted the party leaders meeting convened by the Speaker stating it was illegal, parliamentary sources said.
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JVP, SLFP march in support of SL President

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 November 2003, 18:24 GMT]
Leaders of the Marxist and Sinhala Nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Buddhist monks and thousands of party activists and supporters Friday held a demonstration march in downtown Colombo under the Patriotic National Movement (PNM) banner, supporting President Chadrika Kumaratunga’s decision to take over key ministries of the United National Front government in the wake of the submission of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, sources said.
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"No solution other than the devolution of power is possible" - Batty Weerakoon

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 November 2003, 00:01 GMT]
"LSSP shares the realist approach that given the nature of constitutional amendment no solution other than the devolution of power is possible. As to how comprehensive it can be is subject to negotiation," said Batty Weerakoon, General Secretary of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), in a wide ranging interview with TamilNet when TamilNet caught up with him on his private visit to the United States before the LTTE submitted its proposals for the Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA) for the NorthEast.
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Struggle to take Sri Lanka Parliament gathers pace

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 November 2003, 06:02 GMT]
Tamil and Muslim MPs and the Sinhala nationalist Janata Vimukthi Peramuna are set to play a key role as frantic efforts by President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s People Alliance and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s United National Front to cobble together a majority in Parliament before 19 November gathered momentum in Colombo Wednesday. Mr. Selvam Adaikalanathan, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP for Vanni told TamilNet: “We won’t go for horse deals. The TNA will take a principled stand in the interests of peace”.
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SU demands Colombo to abandon peace process

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 November 2003, 17:03 GMT]
Extreme Sinhala nationalist party, Sihala Urumaya (SU), Sunday appealed to the United National Front (UNF) Government to terminate the peace talks with Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the basis of the contents of the proposals for interim self-governing authority (ISGA), which the SU said will lead to the formation of a separate state, media sources said.
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Proposal merits no discussions - JVP

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 November 2003, 16:52 GMT]
The Sinhala nationalist Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) said Sunday that the interim administrative structure proposal submitted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) deserves no discussions with any one and should be thrown into waste paper basket. The JVP pointed out that the proposal contained all powers required for a separate state in the island, media sources in Colombo said.


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SU demonstrates against Sinhala-Tamil cultural meet

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 October 2003, 13:03 GMT]
Leaders of the extreme Sinhala nationalist party in Sri Lanka, the Sihala Urumaya (SU), members of the Marxist and Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), hundreds of the parties' supporters, including Buddhist monks, held a demonstration in Colombo against the Sinhala-Tamil cultural event being held at the Colombo Town Hall Thursday, sources in Colombo said.
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Mobs attack Sinhala-Tamil Cultural Festival in Colombo

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 October 2003, 06:07 GMT]
Four persons including two journalists were wounded when a Sinhala nationalist mob attacked the Sinhala Tamil Cultural Festival at the New Town Hall in Colombo Wednesday morning.
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Hindus celebrate Deepavali

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 October 2003, 17:05 GMT]
Hindus in Colombo celebrated the Deepavali Festival, the festival of lights, at the New Kathiresan hall in Bambalapitiya Thursday.
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JVP holds meeting to publish 'National Program'

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 October 2003, 15:07 GMT]
The Marxist and Sinhala Nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) today held a public council meeting and produced what it called a ‘National Program’ for building up the country at the open theater inside the Viharamahadevi Park in downtown Colombo.
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Police block anti-peace demonstrators reaching Trinco SLMM office

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 October 2003, 14:37 GMT]
The Eastern Peoples' Front, which is locally considered as a front organization of the Sinhala nationalist and Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, Wednesday held a hartal (general shutdown) and demonstration in Trincomalee town against the presence of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and the establishment of an Interim Administration for the northeast province, sources said.
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SLFP to mobilize people support against UNF government

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 October 2003, 01:42 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) has decided to conduct agitation campaign against the policies of the United National Front (UNF) government in Colombo within the next two weeks, party sources said.


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