Crisis within UPFA deepens over Mahaveli Ministry

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 April 2004, 18:04 GMT]
The crisis within the United People’s Freedom Alliance over the allocation of ministries to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) deepened Friday, with the General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, Mr.Maithiripala Sirisena, asserting that the allocation of four ministries to the JVP was consistent with a pre-poll agreement between the leaders of the SLFP and the JVP in forming the alliance.
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Sri Lanka's President betrayed renegade commander - JHU

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 April 2004, 10:31 GMT]
The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) blasted the Sri Lanka Government for the pandemonium caused in Parliament on Friday, and asked Ms.Kumaratunge's government to take responsibility for its defeat. Although the JHU assured Ms.Kumaratunge of their votes, her betrayal of renegade Eastern Commander forced them to decide against supporting her, JHU said in a press conference held in Colombo today. JHU further said that its members would willingly sacrifice their lives to prevent the creation of Tamil Eelam.
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Kumaratunga requests Norway to resume facilitation

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 April 2004, 08:37 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga phoned Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik Thursday evening and requested Norway to resume its role as a third party facilitator in the peace process between the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), said a press release issued by the Norwegian Prime Ministers Office in Oslo Friday. Norway, however, said it would resume its role as facilitator if the LTTE also made a similar request to Oslo. Norway said it was temporarily withdrawing from Sri Lanka's peace process in November last year.
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Two JHU Bhikku parliamentarians said missing

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 April 2004, 20:16 GMT]
The mystery over two missing Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) parliamentarians took a dramatic turn Wednesday when the leadership of the JHU threatened the ruling United Peoples' Freedom Alliance that it would not support the UPFA government even if it brought progressive pieces of legislation in the new parliament, political sources said.
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UPFA's first cabinet meeting held without JVP ministers

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 April 2004, 19:01 GMT]
The optimism expressed by some senior leaders of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) that row over the allocation to the Mahaveli Development Ministry was close to a settlement evaporated Wednesday evening as the leaderships of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) failed to accept the compromise, political sources said.
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SLA bars Muslim IDP families from resettling in Chavakachcheri

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 April 2004, 18:17 GMT]
Five internally displaced Muslim families with about twenty-five members who returned to Jaffna from Puttalam recently for resettlement have been staying in the damaged Jumma Mosque in the Chavakachcheri town in Thenmaradchchi division as the Sri Lanka Army has refused permission to them to occupy their houses. Their houses are located in the high security zones of the army, civil sources said.
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"No cross-over from UNP to UPFA" - Ranil

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 April 2004, 15:39 GMT]
Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, former Prime Minister and the leader of the United National Party (UNP) Wednesday dismissed media reports that few parliamentarians of the main opposition United National Front (UNF) are to cross over to the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) as baseless and untrue.
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SLFP-JVP close to resolving Mahaveli Ministry row

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 April 2004, 07:50 GMT]
Senior leaders of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance Wednesday expressed optimism that the three week old quarrel between the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) regarding the allocation of Mahaweli Development ministry to the JVP minister designate for Agriculture is likely to be resolved this evening, political sources said.
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TNA censures SL President over ministerial post to EPDP

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 April 2004, 14:55 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance parliamentary group Friday censured the action of Sri Lanka's President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, in appointing a person rejected by the Tamil people in the April 2nd poll in charge of a ministry important to Tamils, disregarding the overwhelming mandate obtained by the TNA for the establishment of the Interim Self Governing Authority in the Northeast, TNA sources said.
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UPFA MPs to hold first group meeting on April 17

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 April 2004, 17:53 GMT]
The first parliamentary group meeting of the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) is scheduled to be held on April 17, coinciding with the birthday of the late Prime Minister of Sri lanka, Ms.Srimavo Bandaranaike, the mother of the President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, sources said.
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"International community accepts LTTE as Tamils’ saviour”-Gajendran

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 April 2004, 15:24 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian from the Jaffna district, Mr.S.Gajendran, said Thursday that the international community has accepted that the Liberation Tigers’ military wing safeguards and protects the Tamil people. "Because of this," said the TNA MP, "the international community remained silent, watching the events that took place when the LTTE launched its military operation to retrieve the areas from its renegade commander ('Karuna')."
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JVP ministers likely to be sworn in this week

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 April 2004, 15:43 GMT]
The four Cabinet rank ministers and other four deputy ministers of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) are likely to be sworn in on Thursday or Friday as all disputes between the JVP and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), regarding the allocation of subjects under the ministries designated for them have been patched up for now, political sources said.
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Election to six provincial councils on one day

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 April 2004, 07:35 GMT]
Sri Lankaís President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge is seriously considering a proposal to hold elections to six provincial councils (excluding northwest) in the south of the country on one day. She is to begin talks next week with leaders and secretaries of various political parties in this regard. Already the election to northwestern provincial council has been fixed for April 24th, political sources said.
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Attempts to avert major showdown between JVP-SLFP

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 April 2004, 07:33 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge has appointed a five-member committee with the Prime Minister Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse at the helm in a bid to resolve the crisis within the recently formed United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government following differences between the major constituents, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), political sources said.
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JVP on warpath with SLFP over ministerial portfolios

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 April 2004, 13:39 GMT]
The General Secretary of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Mr.Tilvin Silva has written to Sri Lanka's President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, to summon the executive committee of the the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA), of which the JVP is a major constituent, immediately to sort out all problems that have arisen over the appointment of Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse as Prime Minister and the nonallocation of "vital subjects" for ministries offered to JVP parliamentarians, political sources said.
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Renegade LTTE Commander flees jungle base

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 April 2004, 10:42 GMT]
Renegade LTTE commander ‘Karuna,' Mr. Vinayagamoorthy Muraleetharan, has fled his jungle base north west of Batticaloa accompanied by a small number of his closest supporters and bodyguards, Sivagnanam Karikalan, a senior leader of the Liberation Tigers from the east, who is currently visiting Switzerland, told TamilNet. According to unconfirmed reports, Mr. Muraleetharan has sought refuge in a Sri Lankan military camp in the adjacent district of Polonnaruwa. Military sources in Colombo declined to confirm the reports.
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JHU rejects Peace Process, Norway Facilitation

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 April 2004, 13:31 GMT]
"We totally reject the present peace process as we believe it will only lead to the division of this country. We also reject the facilitation of Norway because it is partial towards the LTTE," said Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) Propaganda Secretary Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera while outlining the basis of his party's position in backing the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, in an interview that appeared in today's weekly Sunday Times in Colombo.


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JVP boycotts UPFA cabinet swearing in ceremony

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 April 2004, 13:41 GMT]
The first cabinet of the United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government was sworn in Saturday evening in the President’s House with no live coverage by the State electronic media. The leaders and ministers designate of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), major constituent of the UPFA, boycotted the event due to differences of opinion over the allocation of subjects to ministries designated for them, informed political sources in Colombo said.


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JHU to support UPFA to form a government

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 April 2004, 16:17 GMT]
The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) said Friday that it would support the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) to form a government without depending on other minority parties who call themselves as "kingmakers" in the country's politics. JHU has nine parliamentarians, all Buddhist monks, including two national list members in the new parliament. The current parliamentary strength of the UPFA is 105. The UPFA needs the support of eight parliamentarians to prove its simple majority in the 225 member-new parliament, political sources said.
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32 member UPFA Cabinet to be sworn in on Saturday

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 April 2004, 17:41 GMT]
A thirty-two member cabinet of the United People's Freedom Alliance is likely to be sworn in Saturday, sources in Colombo said. A conference of leaders of constituent parties of the UPFA was held Thursday with President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge in the chair and the allocation of ministries has been finalized, government sources said Thursday.
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