President, opposition to meet later this month

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 February 2000, 22:00 GMT]
President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge is likely to meet Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the United National Party, during the third week of February, political sources said today.
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PA and Tamil parties meet on new constitution

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 February 2000, 21:57 GMT]
Representatives of Tamil political parties represented in the Parliament would meet the government leaders on February 10 and 15 to sort out the question of merging northern and eastern provinces without a referendum being held, sources said.
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Court action awaits Pass system

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 February 2000, 17:41 GMT]
The Tamil United Liberation Front's (TULF) central committee decided today to file fundamental rights case if the Government enforces the controversial pass system for the Batticaloa District, sources said. The meeting was presided by TULF's Vice President Mr.V.Anandasangari.
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President urges 'political solution'

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 February 2000, 12:17 GMT]
President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge today appealed to the leaders of all political parties and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to join the government in its efforts to stop the war and find a political solution to the ethnic problem.
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Stop transfer of detainees to Anuradhapura - MP

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 January 2000, 17:32 GMT]
Mr.Joseph Pararajasingham, MP for the Batticaloa district has made an urgent appeal to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge to direct the Defense Secretary and the Commissioner of Prisons to stop the transfer of 46 Tamil political prisoners to Anuradhapura from Batticaloa.
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Scrap pass plan, says Pararajasingham

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 January 2000, 19:38 GMT]
Joseph Pararajasingham, Batticaloa district Member of Parliament, has appealed to President Chandrika Kumaratunge to withdraw a proposed pass system for travelers from the Batticaloa district.
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CTTU protests poor standard Tamil Texts

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 January 2000, 16:49 GMT]
The All Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union (CTTU) has demanded the resignations of the Chairman of the National Institute of Education and the Director General of the Department of Educational Publications for having failed to prepare and print high standard Tamil medium school textbooks without grammatical, spelling and factual errors.
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Sunday Leader Editor defends article

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 January 2000, 20:18 GMT]
Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge has told the High court that an alleged defamatory article published in his English weekly journal didn't convey the impression that the president was a corrupt person.
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Election Commissioner 'Valid In Law'

[TamilNet, Monday, 17 January 2000, 16:42 GMT]
Court of Appeal has declared that the appointment of an Acting Commissioner of Election by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge during the recent Presidential Election was valid in law. The Court held that it was the President's prerogative.
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President security stops letter bomb

[TamilNet, Monday, 17 January 2000, 11:55 GMT]
A letter bomb addressed to the Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunge was detected at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo today, said sources. It was later defused by the bomb disposal unit of the Sri Lanka Army, the sources said.
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Presidential condolence note 'predates assassination'

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 January 2000, 22:22 GMT]
The assassination January 5 of Kumar Ponnambalam, President of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, might have been planned by the Sri Lankan government eight months ago, a Paris based Tamil publication alleged this week. The Eelamurasu cited a condolence letter by President Chandrika Kumaratunge to Ponnambalam's widow which bore the date 6 May 1999.
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Jaffna women condemn Sarathambal rape, murder

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 January 2000, 18:11 GMT]
A large number of women took part in a public protest Thursday evening, condemning the gang-rape and murder of a young mother, Sarathambal. The meeting, organised by the Women Development Center, was held at Navalar Cultural Hall in Nallur, near Jaffna town.
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UNP Challenges Election Result

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 January 2000, 16:04 GMT]
The legality and the propriety of the recent Sri Lankan Presidential election has been challenged in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka by the opposition United National Party.
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FMM protests conspiracy claim

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 January 2000, 13:50 GMT]
The Free Media Movement has deplored the statements in the state owned print and electronic media linking a group of journalists in a conspiracy to assassinate President Chandrika Kumaratunge and establish a military government, as ludicrous.
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Tamils mourn Ponnambalam's death

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 January 2000, 23:59 GMT]
The killing of Kumar Ponnambalam on January 5 has triggered a wave of emotion across the Tamil Diaspora. Sadness and anger has been expressed by Tamil community organisations and individuals in statements and messages on bulletin boards. Ponnmabalam's death has arguably been the main topic of conversation amongst Tamils recently - as is his last public letter to President Chandrika Kumaratunge and the latter's recent stern warning to supporters of the Liberation Tigers.
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Opposition slams President's "racist" speech

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 January 2000, 12:03 GMT]
Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunge's marathon television speech on January 3 was an attempt to kindle racist feelings in the country, said the leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe when briefing the press Thursday morning.
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TULF condemns Ponnambalam slaying

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 January 2000, 10:30 GMT]
The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) has strongly condemned in a statement today, the killing of All Ceylon Tamil Congress president, Mr. Kumar Ponnambalam this morning.
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UNP will support steps to end war

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 December 1999, 18:48 GMT]
Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) today said it would extend its support to the President Chandrika Kumaratunge if she took firm and reasonable steps to end the island's protracted conflict.
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'General' rigging in Jaffna claimed

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 December 1999, 10:55 GMT]
The large number of votes garnered by fringe and extremist Sinhala political parties based in the south in the presidential polls held in Jaffna, indicated general rigging had been conducted, officials in the northern town said Wednesday.
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Kumaratunge vows relentless battle against 'hatred'

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 December 1999, 15:52 GMT]
(NEWS FEATURE) Mrs Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge, after being sworn in as Sri Lanka's fifth Executive President this afternoon at her official residence Temple Trees before the Chief Justice, vowed to "rid this land of death and destruction." Political commentators said it indicated her speech heralded a stronger effort to defeat the Liberation Tigers militarily.
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