UNP will oppose submission of budget before polls

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 September 2005, 10:35 GMT]
The General Secretary of the Opposition United National Party (UNP) Tissa Attanayake has said Monday that his party would strongly oppose the attempt by the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) party to present the annual budget of this year to the Sri Lanka Parliament on the first week of November, political sources in Colombo said.
Full story >>

Colombo lacks will, ability to address Tamil National question- TNA

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 September 2005, 01:42 GMT]
Tamil people will be forced to urge the International community to "explicitely endorse the Tamil people's struggle for self-determination," if the Sri Lankan State continues to be intransigent in resolving the Tamil National question, warned Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in a press release issued in Colombo Thursday.
Full story >>

CWC to decide its stand on presidential election Monday

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 September 2005, 17:23 GMT]
The politburo of the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), a constituent of the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government will meet Monday evening at its headquarters, 'Soumiyamoorthy Bawan' to decide its strategy in the forthcoming presidential election, party sources said.
Full story >>

SL parliament approves State of Emergency

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 August 2005, 12:43 GMT]
Sri Lanka's parliament Thursday adopted a government motion to extend the State of Emergency for a month after a one-day debate with a majority of 103 votes. 124 MPs voted for the motion and 21 against. President Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge declared the State of Emergency soon after the killing of Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister, and summoned the special session of the parliament to approve it on Thursday. According to the Constitution, the State of Emergency should be approved by parliament after ten days of its declaration.
Full story >>

UNP hails Election Commissioner's stand

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 August 2005, 15:48 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) Tuesday hailed the decision of the Commissioner of Elections to hold the next presidential election this year as a victory for the people. Mr.Tissa Attanayake, Assistant Secretary of the UNP told media persons that the statement filed by the Commissioner of Elections in the Supreme Court has proved the constitutional legality on the presidential election controversy, sources said
Full story >>

UNP, JVP react to Kadirgamar slaying

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 August 2005, 20:44 GMT]
In the wake of the assassination Friday of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lanka’s main opposition United National Party, whilst condemning the killing, accused the government of being lax in providing him with security, particularly amid reports he was close to the renegade LTTE commander who defected to the Army, Karuna. And in its vehement reaction, the ultra-nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Perumana (JVP) mourned Mr. Kadirgamar as one of their own and launched a bitter tirade against the LTTE.
Full story >>

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 August 2005, 00:29 GMT]
Mr Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lanka's Minister of Foreign Affairs and a close confidante of Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge, was shot Friday night by a sniper near his residence and later succumbed to his injuries. During his 1994-2001 tenure as foreign minister in People's Alliance (PA) government, he was widely credited for his relentless campaign in foreign capitals to brand the Liberation Tigers as a terrorist organization and to ban the LTTE. Mr Kadirgamar was held in high esteem by most of the South for his vehement opposition to separatism and for his passionate defense of the sovereignty of Sri Lanka. Mr Kadirgamar never held an elected office.
Full story >>

P-TOMS fate confirms Tamils' grave skepticism- Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 August 2005, 02:57 GMT]
Mr. R. Sampanthan M.P. Leader Parliamentary Group TNA, speaking during the adjournment debate on the P-TOMS structure Thursday in the Sri Lanka Parliament said that JVP mounted a "high profile challenge levelled against the P-TOMS" because the "agreement was intended to substantially benefit the Tamil speaking people of the Northeast," and that the failure of P-TOMS has confirmed the "grave sense of skepticism amongst the Tamil people."


Full story >>

SLFP seeks Court to fix SL Presidential election in 2006

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 August 2005, 16:58 GMT]
Mr.Maithiripala Sirisena, General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the main constituent of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, Tuesday filed a petition with the Supreme Court to order the Commissioner of Elections to hold the next Sri Lanka Presidential election in 2006, legal sources said.


Full story >>

Sri Lanka parliament to debate P-TOMS

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 August 2005, 08:03 GMT]
The Sri Lanka's parliament reconvened Tuesday morning with the Speaker Mr.W.M.J.Lokkubandara in the chair. Mr.Lokkubandara informed the house that the ruling party United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) has appointed Mr.Nimal Sripala de Silva as the Leader of the House, filling the vacancy created with the resignation of Mr.Maithiripala Sirisena.
Full story >>

Commissioner to meet leaders before fixing poll date

[TamilNet, Sunday, 07 August 2005, 11:01 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Commissioner of Election Mr.Dayananda Dissanayake is reported to have decided to meet the leaders of all main political parties during the next two weeks before taking a decision to fix the date for the next presidential election. The leader of ruling United Freedom Peoples Alliance (UPFA) government and incumbent President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge insists that the next presidential election should be held in December 2006. However the main opposition United National Party (UNP) demands that the election should be held before December this year, sources said.


Full story >>

Upcountry parties call for Minister's resignation over racial slur

[TamilNet, Saturday, 06 August 2005, 02:04 GMT]
In a press briefing held in Colombo Friday parliamentarians from Upcountry Peoples Front (UPF), Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) and United National Party (UNP) called for the resignation of Deputy Minister Mervyn Silva over his racial slurs directed at the Tamils of Indian Origin and urged businesses in Colombo to lend support to the peoples protest on Monday 8th August by closing their business establishments on that day, sources in Colombo said.
Full story >>

Presidential election controversy goes to court

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 July 2005, 15:46 GMT]
Mr.Dharmadasa Gomes, Attorney-at-Law Friday filed a petition in the Court of Appeal to order the Commissioner of Elections to declare the date of the Sri Lankan Presidential election citing Commissioner of Elections Mr.Dayananda Dissanayake, and Attorney General Mr.K.C.Kamalasbaeyson, as respondents, state run Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation reported in its Friday night news bulletin quoting legal sources.
Full story >>

Kalmunai Muslims protest against SL Minister Athaulla

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 July 2005, 12:30 GMT]
More than one thousand Muslims from three different mosques in Kalmunai town marched Friday in protest against the Minister of Infrastructure Development in the Eastern Province, Mr. A.L.M Athaulla, a leader of one of the breakaway factions of Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), accusing the lankan minister of "betraying Muslims in Kalmunai" and favouring his native town of Akkaraipattu in securing governmental facilities. Demonstrators also carried placards supporing Tamil - Muslim relations in Kalmunai.
Full story >>

SLFP names Mahinda Rajapakse Presidential candidate

[TamilNet, Thursday, 28 July 2005, 09:32 GMT]
The central committee of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Thursday endorsed the name of Prime Minister, Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse, as its candidate of the Sri Lanka's executive presidency. Mr.Nimal Sripala de Silva, Cabinet spokesman and Minister in the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government announced this at a press briefing held in Prime Minister's official residence 'Temple Trees'.
Full story >>

EPDP paramilitary cadre shot dead in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 28 July 2005, 07:35 GMT]
Unidentified persons shot dead an EPDP cadre identified as Sooriyapillai Nixon, 24, Thursday around 12:30 p.m. in Jaffna town. The cadre was taking a parcel of copies of a Tamil weekly, Thinamurasu, published by the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP), a paramilitary group and a close ally of the Sri Lanka's United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, to be distributed to sale outlets, Police sourcers said.
Full story >>

"Sri Lanka's Judiciary consistently denied justice to Tamils" - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 26 July 2005, 15:21 GMT]
"We have seen how the Judiciary of Sri Lanka aided the oppression of Tamil people during the period of war, and we have recently witnessed how Colombo's Supreme Court crippled the Agreement on Joint Mechanism accepted by the President of Sri Lanka," LTTE's Political Head Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan said in his key note address delivered in Kilinochchi at the ceremony to mark the opening of the new building for Legislation Secretariat of the Judicial Administrative Unit of the Tamil Eelam on Tuesday. "The Sinhala Nation has failed to seize the opportunity during this three and a half year period of absence of war to resolve the Tamil national question," LTTE's Political Head said.
Full story >>

P-TOMS to be debated in SL parliament

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 July 2005, 16:58 GMT]
A debate on P-TOMS signed by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is scheduled for August 11 and 12 in Sri Lanka Parliament, political sources said. The decision was taken at the party leaders meeting held Tuesday evening with the Speaker Mr.W.M.J.Lokkubandara in the chair.
Full story >>

Parliament to meet Tuesday after Court ruling on P-TOMS

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 July 2005, 05:42 GMT]
The Secretary General of the parliament has summoned a meeting of leaders of political parties for Monday evening at 4 p.m., which is to be presided by the Speaker Mr.W.M.J.Lokkubandara in his chamber. The meeting has been called to finalize the business of the Parliament, which is to meet Tuesday for the first time after the Supreme Court ruling on the P-TOMS.
Full story >>

Kantalai ancestral farmers face denial of water rights

[TamilNet, Sunday, 17 July 2005, 13:19 GMT]
Mr.R.Sampanthan, Trincomalee district parliamentarian, has requested the Sri Lanka's Ministry of Irrigation not to divert water from Kantalai tank for irrigating fields in a newly created Sinhala settlement Jayanthipura undermining the preferential rights of ancestral (Purana) farmers of Tampalakamam and Mullipoththanai of the down stream. When the augmentation of Kantalai tank took place in 1950s to support new Sinhala settlements Government of Ceylon gave an undertaking to traditional Tamil and Muslim farmers ensuring their right to water from the tank.
Full story >>