Joint Mechanism means end of UPFA, warns JVP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 April 2005, 05:02 GMT]
At a time when the Norwegian facilitators indicated that the Government and the LTTE are coming close to enter into an agreement on the proposed Joint Mechanism for post-tsunami aid distribution in the North-East, the marxist extreme Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a major ally of the ruling UPFA coalition, warned on Tuesday that such a deal would mean the end of the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government.
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LTTE Political Head meets South African Deputy President

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 April 2005, 19:29 GMT]
Mr Thamilchelvan, head of LTTE political wing, told South African Deputy President Mr.Jacob Zuma that LTTE is committed to the CeaseFire Agreement and has expressed its readiness to recommence negotiations on the basis of the proposals submitted for the formation of an interim administration, when they met in Durban Monday, sources close to the LTTE said.


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Kumaratunga off to London for New Year holidays

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 April 2005, 10:03 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga left for London on Saturday night to spend the forthcoming New Year holidays with her children, Yashoda and Vimukthi. According to reports, Ms Kumaratunge before undertaking her private trip to UK has appointed her close confidante, Ratnasiri Wickremenayake, as the Minister of Defence and Dinesh Gunawardene as the Minister of Education until she returns back to Sri Lanka.
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Not even twenty percent support for federalism - JVP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 April 2005, 12:51 GMT]
"A federal system as a political solution to Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict would not even get twenty percent support from the people at a referendum", said Mr. Somawansa Amarasingha, leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), President Chandrika Kumaratunga's main Marxist coalition partner, addressing a meeting Tuesday in Anuradhapura to commemorate the thousands of party activists who were killed in April 1971 when Colombo brutally crushed an armed uprising by the JVP to establish communist rule in the island. Mr. Amarasingha was one of the young JVP leaders who led the 71’ insurrection.
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Kantalai hospital should be developed on par with Trinco - Health Minister

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 March 2005, 17:19 GMT]
Mr.Nimal Sripala de Silva, Health Minister in the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government said Saturday that the Kantalai base hospital should be developed on par with the Trincomalee general hospital. "Please do not forget about the development of Kantalai hospital," said the Minister when addressing a conference in the Trincomalee general hospital especially summoned to discuss about the development of the century old Trincomalee general hospital built under the British rule.
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JVP will never quit UPFA government, Kadirgamar assures to BBC

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 March 2005, 13:19 GMT]
Throwing his weight fully behind the radical Sinhala nationalistic Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a major coalition in the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance government, Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar, in a live television interview with the BBC on Tuesday said that the JVP is for the negotiated political settlement with the LTTE and assured that it would never quit the ruling coalition in this regard.
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Tilak Karunaratne withdraws petition against MoU

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 March 2005, 08:27 GMT]
One of the three petitions filed in the Court of Appeal challenging the constitutional validity of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the then Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe and Mr.V.Pirapaharan leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was withdrawn last week, legal sources said.
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Tamils risk turning violence inwards- Prof Uyangoda

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 March 2005, 11:20 GMT]
Although the three years of relative peace after the signing of the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) between the United National Party (UNP) and the Liberation Tigers (LTTE) has demonstrated that violence and war is not necessary to mediate relations between warring parties, the same period has "also proved that Tamil society ran the risk of turning violence inwards, against itself," writes Prof Uyangoda in an article appearing in the Saturday edition of Daily Mirror.
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Kumaratunga moves to clip JVP's strong media links

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 March 2005, 13:19 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga is reported to have taken over the administration of the Media Ministry, held by Minister Mangala Samaraweera, in a move widely seen as intended to limit the strong links the radical Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has with the State media institutions, especially the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Co-operation (SLRC), Independent Television Network (ITN) and the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), political sources in Colombo said.
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Arrest rising chauvinism, extremism, TNA tells Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 March 2005, 12:15 GMT]
Accusing Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister of "inciting the forces of chauvinism and extremism" in Sri Lanka by rushing to describe World Bank official Mr Peter Harrold's statements on Liberation Tigers, without checking their veracity, as "provocative," Mr Sampanthan, parliamentary group leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in his statement in Sri Lanka's parliament on the current political situation, urged the Sri Lanka Government to speak with one voice regarding taking the peace process forward, parliamentary sources in Colombo said.
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CFA cannot survive in 'No war No Talks' climate- Elilan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 March 2005, 04:27 GMT]
"It is meaningless to observe a ceasefire in the current situation where there is no peace and no peace talks. The deteriorating security climate in the east, and the chaotic political situation plagued by disunity within the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) in the South that shows no signs of improving, can only hasten Tamils march towards the final solution," said Mr.S.Elilan in his address at the International Women's Day celebrations held Tuesday evening at Trincomalee Cultural hall, sources said.
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JVP demands World Bank Country Director to be removed from Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 March 2005, 04:04 GMT]
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Sri Lanka's powerful Marxist Sinhala nationalist party and President Chandrika Kumaratunga's main coalition partner in the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, has demanded the World Bank to remove its Country Representative, Mr. Peter Harrold, from Sri Lanka. The JVP in a statement issued on Sunday accused that the World Bank Representative had "overstepped his duties" by making a statement to a newspaper indicating that Rs. 6 billion of the post-tsunami aid for the LTTE-held areas in the North-East would be disbursed through state agencies in consultation with the LTTE.
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JVP sets up illegal Sinhala settlements, Trincomalee tense

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 March 2005, 11:48 GMT]
Tension is mounting in the eastern port city of Trincomalee Thursday as members of radical Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a major constituent of the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, attempt to construct small houses to settle Sinhalese people in State land in a portion of the esplanade of the urban council in the heart of Trincomalee town, civil sources said. Tension escalated Thursday afternoon as groups of Tamil youth blocked traffic by placing blockades on roads protesting the encroachment.
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Two Tamil ministers of Kumaratunga govt. submit resignations

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 February 2005, 15:07 GMT]
A minister and a deputy minister of President Kumaratunga's coalition government submitted their resignations Thursday. The ministers, Mr. Muthu Sivalingam MP and Mr. M. S Sellasamy belong to the Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC), a key coalition partner of President Kumaratunga's government which represents workers in Sri Lanka's large plantation sector.
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JVP demands UPFA Government to withdraw statement on interim administration

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 February 2005, 12:53 GMT]
The radical Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a major coalition partner of the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) on Thursday demanded the government to withdraw immediately its statement - that it was ready to resume peace talks with the LTTE firstly to set up an interim administrative structure in the NorthEast region - as it goes against the stance of the coalition government. The government Information Department said in a statement on Wednesday that the government was prepared to resume talks to set up first an interim arrangement to handle the urgent humanitarian needs of the people and then proceed to discuss the final solution to the prolonged ethnic crisis.
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No Tamil Unit in Central Education Ministry

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 February 2005, 03:59 GMT]
Tamil and Muslim educationists have expressed serious concern that despite assurances given by Education Ministry Secretary, Dr.Tara de Mel, a separate Tamil Administration Unit has not been established in the Central Ministry of Education. Development of Tamil medium education has been severely hampered by the absence of this unit, the educationists complained.
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JVP, JHU boycott Independence Day celebrations

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 February 2005, 18:29 GMT]
Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), the powerful ultra Sinhala nationalist Buddhist monks' party in Sri Lanka's Parliament, boycotted Friday's Independence day celebrations organised by Chandrika Kumaratunga's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, ven. Ellawala Madhananda Thera, the Head of the JHU, told media Friday. Another significant player absent in Friday's celebrations was the marxist extreme Sinhala nationalist party, Janatha Vimukti Peramuna (JVP).
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Jaffna Civil groups call for Independence Day boycott

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 February 2005, 21:48 GMT]
Jaffna District Civil Groups Forum (JDCGF) Wednesday called upon the residents of Jaffna district to observe February 4 as a day of mourning. The 57th Independence Day of Sri Lanka falls on February 4.
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JVP, SLFP discord widens

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 February 2005, 12:33 GMT]
Relations between the two main constituent parties of the United people front Alliance (UPFA) government worsened with the Janatha Vimukthy Peremuna (JVP), the Marxist extreme Sinhala nationalist party expressing its displeasure over the Sri Lanka government's failure to involve JVP in the rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in the North and East, JVP sources said.
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UPFA Government dishonest to NorthEast citizens, says UNP Parliamentarian

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 January 2005, 11:56 GMT]
Charging that the Sri Lanka Government has failed to send adequate relief supplies to people in NorthEast affected by the tsunami, Dr. Rajitha Seneratne, United National Party (UNP) parliamentarian told Sinhala media at the Opposition Leaders office Monday that "people living in LTTE-controlled areas are also our brothers and sisters and they too are citizens of this country, and so, we should share our responsibility to look after them. If we let them down at this critical period when they are facing a monumental tragedy, it will reinforce their conviction to part ways."
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