First incident of election violence in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 February 2004, 12:22 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police Sunday reported the first incident of election violence in the Batticaloa district. Assailants suspected to be supporters of a political party contesting the April polls to Sri Lanka's Parliament shot at a candidate of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's United National Front late Saturday night at his residence in Araiyampathy, a large, densely populated village 6 kilometres south of Batticaloa, Police in the eastern town said.
Full story >>

Colombo appoints Police officer to deal with election violence

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 February 2004, 16:08 GMT]
Colombo appointed a senior Police officer to deal with election violence for the first time in Sri Lanka’s post independence history as more than 30 persons were reported injured in clashes between supporters and members of political parties campaigning for the 2 April polls to the island’s Parliament. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Mr. Jayantha Wickremaratna has been put in charge of the special desk for election violence at the Sri Lanka Police Headquarters in Colombo. The officer has been appointed in addition to the DIG who is normally in charge of elections.
Full story >>

Objection against TNA using HOUSE symbol rejected

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 February 2004, 13:38 GMT]
The Commissioner of Elections Mr Dayananda Dissanayake Friday rejected the objection made against the Tamil National Alliance contesting in the name of Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK) and its election symbol "HOUSE," as the challenge was made after the closure of the nomination for the April 2nd general election, sources said.


Full story >>

SLMC to launch election campaign Sunday

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 February 2004, 13:18 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, a constituent of the United National Front (UNF) alliance, is to launch its election campaign Sunday evening with a rally in Sammanthurai, a town in the Amparai district, SLMC sources said. The SLMC leader and a senior minister Mr.Rauff Hakim, is standing against the National Unity Alliance (NUA) leader Ms Ferial Ashraffat the forthcoming general election in Amparai.


Full story >>

Glowing tribute paid to retiring principal Sister Madutheen

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 February 2004, 13:11 GMT]
Parents, students, leading citizens, educationists, politicians and peoples of all walks of life Saturday assembled at the Vavuniya-Irambaikulam Girls Maha Vidiyalayam to bid farewell to Sister M.M.Jude Madutheen who retired after serving fifteen years as Principal of the institution, sources in Vavuniya said.


Full story >>

"UPFA firmly committed to political dialogue with LTTE"

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 February 2004, 12:39 GMT]
“Within a short time of the formation of the Freedom Alliance government President Kumaratunge will call for the recommencement of the peace talks with the LTTE and also propose time frames for solving the problems concerned," said the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) in a press release issued Friday in Colombo.


Full story >>

Colombo to decide on clustered booths in Trincomalee - GA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 February 2004, 16:05 GMT]
Trincomalee District Government Agent and Returning Officer Mr. Gamini Rodrigo said Tuesday that he is considering locating clustered polling booths in no man zones to enable voters in the uncleared areas in the Trincomalee district to exercise their franchise, election officials in Trincomalee said.


Full story >>

Wickremesinghe appeals for renewed mandate for peace

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 February 2004, 14:39 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremesinghe Sunday addressing the special convention of the United National Party (UNP) held at Colombo New Town hall appealed to the voters to give his coalition a fresh mandate with absolute majority that will enable him to take the peace process forward and to build a new nation in the next six years, political sources in Colombo said.


Full story >>

Ronnie de Mel changes sides again

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 February 2004, 12:14 GMT]
Mr. Ronnie de Mel, Sri Lanka’s longest serving finance minister, crossed over to the United National Party (UNP) from President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party, UNP officials in Colombo said Sunday. His wife Mallika de Mel, a former MP from the Matara district, also joined the UNP along with her husband.


Full story >>

Sri Lanka Elections: News Brief

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 February 2004, 12:06 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) plans to submit nomination papers in the districts of NorthEast at the same time Monday noon, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress is to compete in Jaffna alone, Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission is exploring ways to help people in LTTE controlled areas to exercise their right to vote, EPDP and EPRLF (Varather faction) to contest jointly in Jaffna, and in Nuwara Eliya district Hill country Tamils to fight the elections in four fronts, popular Jaffna dailies Uthayan and Veerakesari reported in their Sunday Edition.
Full story >>

Jaffna polling cards security issues discussed

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 February 2004, 18:37 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Post Master General (PMG) Mr.K.A.Senadhira said Saturday that Jaffna district polling cards will be sent from Colombo by air. He made this announcement on his visit to Jaffna Saturday, postal department sources said.


Full story >>

Maheswaran nominated UNP candidate in Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 February 2004, 14:06 GMT]
Mr. Thiyagarajah Maheswaran, former minister for Hindu Affairs and ex MP for Jaffna, will contest in Colombo as a candidate of the United National Party, sources said. UNP officials said that the ex minister was expected to sign nomination papers for the electoral district of Colombo Saturday evening. Mr. Maheswaran announced last week that he was not contesting the April elections to Sri Lanka’s Parliament in Jaffna and was retiring from politics.
Full story >>

"Sinhala Only" election materials irk NorthEast officials

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 February 2004, 17:54 GMT]
NorthEast officials responsible for conducting the forthcoming elections are irked at their Colombo counterparts for sending instructions and other election materials in "Sinhala only," thereby causing procedural snarl at the NorthEast election offices, officials in Jaffna said. Neither English copies nor Tamil translations accompany the received election material, according the same sources.
Full story >>

JHU Buddhist monks submit Colombo nominations

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 February 2004, 16:00 GMT]
The leading monks of the JHU, Ven. Uduwe Damaloka Thera, Ven. Ellawala Methananda thera, Ven. Athureliye Ratthana Thera, and Ven. Kolannawe Sumangala addressed a press conference in downtown Colombo in connection with the submission of the nomination papers. Speaking at the press conference, Ven. Kolannawe Sumangala, the chief candidate of the JHU in Colombo said he considers the elections as a just war (Dhamma Yuddhaya) to safeguard the Sinhala nation and Buddhism.
Full story >>

SLMC Athaullah faction joins SLFP-JVP alliance

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 February 2004, 13:08 GMT]
A key breakaway faction of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, the main partner of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's government said Friday that it is joining the SLFP-JVP alliance to contest the April elections to Sri Lanka's Parliament in Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Digamadulla and Vanni. The announcement by this powerful faction of the SLMC, led by former minister of highways Mr. A.L.M Athaullah is seen as a setback for Mr. Wickremesinghe's coalition.
Full story >>

Tribalist irrationality permeates Sinhala political rhetoric - Uyangoda

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 February 2004, 03:31 GMT]
Unless extremely prudently handled, developments surrounding the forthcoming election may set in a new political process in which "Sri Lanka's future as a nation-state unit might be at a great risk" warns Professor Uyangoda, in a sobering analysis of the political campaign which he says is "likely to be full of rhetoric of the retrograde kind," in an opinion column that appears in the Friday edition of the Daily Mirror.


Full story >>

SLA Soldier dies of heart attack in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 February 2004, 16:59 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier who was deployed in a camp located in Kodikamam in Thenmaradchchi division in Jaffna district Thursday died of heart attack. He was attached to the 52-2 Division of the SLA, police said.


Full story >>

Ruhunu Janatha Party submits nominations in Trinco

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 February 2004, 16:16 GMT]
The Ruhunu Janatha Party (RJP) was the first political party to submit its nomination papers to contest in the Trincomalee electoral district in the forthcoming parliamentary election, which has been fixed for April 2, election department sources said.
Full story >>

Elections commissioner says no to polling stations in LTTE areas

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 February 2004, 15:34 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Commissioner of Elections said Thursday he won’t allow polling booths in areas held by the Liberation Tigers where more than two hundred thousand Tamil voters live. The polling stations would instead be clustered in places controlled by the Sri Lankan armed forces he said. Addressing a press conference at his office in Colombo Thursday at his office he said that he decided to do so for reasons of security, transport problems and land mines.
Full story >>

Last ditch attempt to get 'rising sun' for TNA fails

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 February 2004, 08:18 GMT]
A last ditch attempt by the Tamil United Liberation Front to secure the rising sun symbol for the Tamil National Alliance failed when the Court of Appeal Thursday directed the party's secretary general and senior vice president to make written submissions regarding their appeal to set aside the interim injunction of the Colombo district court preventing them from convening party meetings without the written permission of Mr. V. Ananandasangaree, president of the TULF on 24 February, the last day of nominations for Sri Lanka's general elections in April.
Full story >>