CFA has to be revived says Lankan Chief of Defence

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 December 2005, 13:22 GMT]
Sri Lanka Chief of Defence Staff, Daya Sandagiri, during a press meet in Colombo Friday ruled out Sri Lanka armed forces going to war but said that they will be prepared to meet any military situation that may arise. He said that the military leadership has submitted a report to SL President Mahinda Rajapakse concluding that the Cease Fire Agreement has to be revived and that Mr Rajapakse will make the final decision on this matter.
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Student protests escalate in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 December 2005, 18:30 GMT]
University students protest at Kaladdy in Jaffna turned violent when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers fired at the air and tried to disperse the protestors. The Scandinavian ceasefire monitors who tried to calm the situation had to withdraw from the site at 12:30 p.m. as they were unable to persuade SLA commanders and student leaders to come to an understanding to defuse the situation, sources said.


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Clause 1.8 key to saving truce - paper

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 December 2005, 15:34 GMT]
Arguing that “a period of mutual de-escalation and confidence building is a sine quo non if a meaningful peace process is to resume,” the Tamil Guardian newspaper said this week “[this] must begin with an end to the Army’s covert onslaught,” in reference to the ongoing shadow war by Army-backed paramilitaries against LTTE members and supporters. Despite the recent sharp rise in violence, fears of an imminent war are overstated, the Diaspora newspaper argued, noting that this is not the first time incidents involving heavy loss of life have occurred since the February 2002 ceasefire.
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Reopen channels for direct dialogue at local level - SLMM

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 December 2005, 07:48 GMT]
Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission on Tuesday urged the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to reopen the channels for direct dialogue at the local level to diffuse the situation in the NorthEast. The attacks that have taken place over the last few days must stop immediately if the peace process is to move forward, the SLMM statement said. Colombo, on Monday, declined permission to the Jaffna commander of the Sri Lanka Army to proceed with the SLMM facilitated meeting in Muhamalai no man zone with the LTTE's political head in Jaffna.
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US condemns Jaffna attacks, urges parties to uphold CFA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 December 2005, 04:15 GMT]
US State Department Deputy Spokesman Adam Ereli in a statement issued on Monday called on the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to take immediate action to prevent violence and to uphold the terms of the Ceasefire Agreement.
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Recognize Tamil need for Self-Government- Boston Globe

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 December 2005, 15:18 GMT]
Pointing out Pirapaharan's Heroes Day message that he will intensify struggle for self-determination if no "political framework that will satisfy the political aspirations of Tamils" was forthcoming, the Boston Globe in an editorial appearing on 4 December issue, opined that this "either-or threat, seen alongside Rajapakse's own hard-line stance, presages an imminent renewal of civil war," and said, "India and the United States should bring international pressure to bear on the island's belligerents to sustain the current ceasefire and craft a political resolution that recognizes the Tamil need for self-government."
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India sees "internal processes" producing solution

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 December 2005, 17:51 GMT]
Commenting on Sri Lanka’s conflict and peace process, India said Thursday it "believes that an enduring solution can only emerge essentially through internal political processes." In a joint statement issued by both countries on the occasion of Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera’s visit to Delhi, the Indian government said it “continues to maintain an abiding interest in the security of Sri Lanka and remains committed to its sovereignty and territorial integrity."
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Colombo to continue to maintain CFA with LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 November 2005, 16:24 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse Monday explained his future peace plans with the Colombo-based diplomatic community where he said that his new government will continue to observe the ceasefire agreement with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. In his address, the Sri Lankan President told the diplomatic community that he welcomed the remarks made by the LTTE leader Mr. V. Pirapaharan in his annual Maveerar Day speech and reiterated his invitation to the Tigers for fresh talks, a statement from the SL President's office said. The statement said Mr. Rajapaske wanted to "review" the "operation" of the ceasefire.
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LTTE to intensify struggle for self-determination if reasonable political solution is not offered soon

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 November 2005, 12:04 GMT]
The leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in his annual Heroes’ Day statement made an urgent appeal to the new Sri Lanka Government of Mr Mahinda Rajapakse to offer a reasonable political solution to the ethnic conflict without further delay. The Tamil Tiger leader cautioned the government that his liberation organisation would intensify the struggle for self-determination and political independence if the new regime adopts a hard-line position and fails to resolve the problems of his people.
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Fonseka is new Army Commander

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 November 2005, 20:39 GMT]
Major General Sarath Fonseka, to be promoted Lieutenant General, will be Sri Lanka's new Commander of the Army, The Sunday Times reported this week. Lt. Gen. Foneseka will become the 17th Commander of the Army and will succeed Lt. Gen. Shantha Kottegoda, against whom he had unsuccessfully competed for the post in 2003.
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Eye of the storm?

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 November 2005, 08:31 GMT]
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse’s first address to his Parliament had been keenly, albeit warily, anticipated by those concerned about the peace process. Elected on a hardline nationalist platform (and having easily drawn the majority of Sinhala votes), Rajapakse’s speech curiously received the press coverage of a pro-peace candidate: that he wanted to hold "direct" talks with the Liberation Tigers. But peace advocates paying close attention to his policy statement would have been thoroughly alarmed.
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Sovereignty fears

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 November 2005, 01:33 GMT]
The definition "supreme authority within a territory," captures the essential notion of sovereignty used to describe political authority of modern nation states. The origins of Sri Lanka’s long festering conflict lie in its unitary constitution which vests the exercise of sovereignty solely in the hands of Sinhala Buddhists. But Colombo wields no sovereign authority over nearly seventy percent of the island’s NorthEast. Radical Sinhala groups view the denial of their state’s sovereignty in areas controlled by the Liberation Tigers with extreme chagrin. Over the years, other events too have challenged Sri Lanka’s sovereignty.
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Rajapakse rejects Tamil Homeland, Right to Self determination

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 November 2005, 11:44 GMT]
Rejecting the Tamil demand of right to self determination and the concept of traditional Tamil homeland, Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse in his first address to the Parliament in Colombo Friday avoided reference to Norwegian facilitation and reiterated his hardline stand outlined in the "Mahinda Thinking" election manifesto prepared following his agreement with extreme Sinhala nationalist JVP and JHU. Nullifying the P-TOMS agreement, he said he would replace it with "Jaya Lanka" (Victory to Lanka) tsunami reconstruction programme. His "new peace process" would aim to have direct talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), he said.
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Sri Lanka, a divided nation

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 November 2005, 02:21 GMT]
Predicting that if parliamentary elections were held and the LTTE encouraged Tamils to vote, the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) will likely lose the elections, and the United National Party (UNP) wll be able to form a coalition government with the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Robert C Oberst, Professor of Political Science at Nebraska Wesleyan University says Sri Lanka remains a divided nation, divided, not only between the Tamils, Sinhalese and Muslims, but also divided among the Sinhalese. He adds that renegade LTTE commander, Mr. Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan (Karuna), is the biggest loser in the elections.
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Wickremanayake appointed new Lankan PM

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 November 2005, 07:09 GMT]
Mr.Ratnasiri Wickremanayake was sworn in as the fourteenth Prime Minister of Sri Lanka before SL President Mahinda Rajapakse Monday. At a ceremony held at the Temple Trees, Mr. Rajapakse sworn in him as the Prime Minister of his would-be appointed cabinet this morning. Ratnasiri Wickremanayake held the post of Deputy Minister of Defense and Minister of Buddhist Affairs till the election of Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse as the 5th executive president of Sri Lanka.
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Norway offers to continue Sri Lanka Peace role

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 November 2005, 15:08 GMT]
Congratulating the newly elected Sri Lankan President Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse, the Norwegian Minister of International Development, Mr. Erik Solheim, Friday said that the Norwegian goverment was looking forward to continuing its close cooperation with the new president and the Government of Sri Lanka in a wide range of areas, including support for the peace process. "Norway remains willing to facilitate the peace process in Sri Lanka for as long as the two parties request such assistance, and for as long as it is possible for Norway to play a constructive role," Solheim was quoted in a press release issued by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Friday.
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SLA soldiers dishonor GA permits at checkpoint -TNA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 November 2005, 18:08 GMT]
Soldiers manning the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) checkpoints at Kaddaiparichchan and Mahindapura in Muttur east and Eachchilampathu division are not honoring permits issued by the Trincomalee Government Agent to non-governmental organizations and other agencies to take building materials to LTTE held areas to implement approved reconstruction and rehabilitation projects, said Mr.K.Thurairatnasingham, Trincomalee district parliamentarian in a letter faxed to President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge Tuesday.
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Children support peace, says poll

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 November 2005, 12:21 GMT]
A Children’s Opinion Poll commissioned by the Children As Zones of Peace (‘CZOP’), a collaboration of local and international NGOs and UN Agencies has found that 97 percent of children that are aware of the peace process, see the peace process as good for Sri Lanka, a media release issued by CZOP said Monday.


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We trapped and split LTTE, sank their ships, says UNP

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 November 2005, 00:18 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s opposition United National Party this week claimed credit for engineering a split within the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) through the peace process whilst at the same time keeping the movement locked in via an international security net. The UNP also claimed credit for the sinking of LTTE vessels during the peace talks.
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LTTE, SLMM meet in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Monday, 31 October 2005, 16:22 GMT]
Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Monday brought to the notice of the members of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in the east port town, several ceasefire violations by the State armed forces in the district, LTTE sources said.
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