Frustration of affected people growing high - Norwegian Minister

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 January 2005, 18:32 GMT]
Emphasizing on the need for wider co-operation between President Chandrika Kumaratunga's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) visiting Minister of International Development of Norway, Ms. Hilde F. Johnson said on Saturday night in Colombo that the frustration of the tsunami affected people was growing high as a result of their needs not being met by authorities.
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Government's call for unity is an empty ballyhoo, says JVP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 January 2005, 05:40 GMT]
Mounting an all-out attack against President Chandrika Kumaratunga's leadership, major coalition partner of her Freedom Alliance government, radical Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has said on Friday that the call by the government leadership for national unity was an "empty ballyhoo".
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Kumaratunga's stand undemocratic and opportunistic, says UNP

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 January 2005, 11:59 GMT]
President Kumaratunga, seizing the tsunami disaster as an opportunity to extend her presidential term, is behaving in an undemocratic and opportunistic manner, charged the main oppostion United National Party (UNP) Parliamentarian Prof. G.L.Peiris at a press conference held in Sinhala at the Oppositon Leader's residence Thursday. Stating that there is no change in UNP's stand that the Presidential election should be held December 2005, he said relief work need to be carried out independently with full transparency according to workplans agreed with involvement of all parties.
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EPDP walks out from Jaffna relief meet

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 January 2005, 16:27 GMT]
Mr.T.Mathanarajah of the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP), a constituent of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government walked out of the Jaffna District Task Force (DTF) meeting Wednesday evening protesting the participation of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), district secretariat sources said.


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Avoid politicisation of relief efforts, cautions EU

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 January 2005, 15:31 GMT]
Calling upon President Chandrika Kumaratunga's United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, all political parties and the LTTE to actively promote a fair distribution of relief assistance to the tsunami victims, Colombo-based Heads of Missions of the European Union on Friday cautioned that there should be no politicisation of relief efforts. In an apparent reaction to the government's decision to deploy its military to handle the relief assistance, the member countries of the EU have also urged all parties to refrain from any actions during the distribution of humanitarian aid that might have a potentially negative impact on the peace process.
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TNA parliamentarians boycott Governor's Jaffna visit

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 January 2005, 14:54 GMT]
Jaffna district Tamil National Parliamentarians Monday boycotted the first official visit of Mr.Tyronne Fernando, Governor of the Northeast Province in protest to the government's refusal to allow Mr.Koffi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations to visit Tsunami destroyed Northern coastal areas, including Mullaitivu district, TNA sources said.
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UK naval ship also arrives in Colombo for tsunami relief

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 January 2005, 14:20 GMT]
A naval ship of the British naval fleet, HMS Chatham, has arrived in Colombo harbour Monday evening with a group a sailors and two light helicopters. The ship has been sent to Sri Lanka following a request made by the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government led by President Chandrika Kumaratunga, defence sources said.
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Relief supplies hijacked and relabelled in Moratuwa - Colombo paper

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 January 2005, 10:39 GMT]
The radical Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a major coalition partner in the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga, has been accused of hijacking relief supplies sent to welfare camps and re-distributing them as supplies from the JVP, reported The Sunday Leader, a Colombo based English weekly in its latest issue.
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Harim Peiris, UPFA Minister visit Jaffna to view damages

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 December 2004, 12:18 GMT]
Mr.Harim Peiris, Presidential Advisor, accompanied by Mr.D.E.W.Gunasekara, Constitutional Affairs and National Integration Minister in the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, arrived in Jaffna Wednesday to see the devastation of the Jaffna peninsula after Sunday's Tsunami, political sources in Jaffna said.
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South gambles with Sri Lanka's destiny- NLF

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 December 2004, 11:40 GMT]
"The most urgent need today is not to cave in to the antics of the [Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna] JVP," said Mr. Thirunavukarasu, polit bureau member of the New Left Front (NLF) Saturday, political sources in Colombo said. He noted that the deadlock reached in the peace process is not of recent origin, but represents the "cumulative effect of the manner in which the ruling classes have handled the Tamil National issue since the 1950s" and said that the time has come for the two main parties to "shed their predilection just for power and one-upmanship."
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"Talks on ISGA should start first"- UPFA Minister

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 December 2004, 00:04 GMT]
"Peace talks based on the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals should start first and both sides should try to resolve their differences across the negotiating table," said Mr.D.E.W.Gunasekara, Constitutional Affairs and National Integration Minister in the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government addressing a meeting held at Kandy D S Senanayake Library Auditorium Thursday to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of the late Dr. N.M. Perera, leader of the Lanka Sama Samaja party (LSSP).
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PNM wants CFA annulled

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 December 2004, 16:54 GMT]
The Patriotic National Movement (PNM), a sinhala nationalist organization, decided at its 19th annual convention of its branches, to annul the ceasefire agreement (CFA) and to remove Norway from its facilitation role in the peace talks, political sources in Colombo said. PNM further decided that peace talks should not resume on the basis of the Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals of the LTTE. The convention was held Tuesday evening at the Colombo Town hall.
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UNP's protest campaign draws 30 000 protestors in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 December 2004, 16:48 GMT]
Around thirty thousand protestors joined in a big protest rally organized by the main opposition United National Party (UNP) in Colombo Tuesday, demanding the release of Mr.S.B.Dissanayake, a UNP parliamentarian who was sentenced to two years rigorous imprisonment by the Supreme Court recently, on being found guilty on contempt charge.
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Falk Rovik didn't represent Amnesty - Amnesty Norway

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 December 2004, 11:51 GMT]
Head of Information at Amnesty International Norway, Mr. John P. Egenæs , earlier on Tuesday, denied that a controversial Norwegian called Falk Rovik had represented his organisation at a conference held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo on Saturday, 18 November 2004. The conference was organised by hard-line forces in southern Sri Lanka opposed to the Norwegian facilitation of the peace process. Mr. Egenæs told TamilNet that the controversial Norwegian neither is, nor has ever been a spokesperson of Amnesty International Norway.
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Find Consensus Within Government Coalition Before Seeking Our Co-operation - UNP MP

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 December 2004, 13:48 GMT]
"Whilst we are always ready to support the peace process, any effort by the government to advance the peace process without first dealing with the contradictions and conflict within their coalition ranks will be in vain" said Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, UNP MP for Kalutara District, at a press conference held in Colombo Sunday.
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Media persons protest against grenade attack

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 December 2004, 14:45 GMT]
The Free Media Movement and the Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association Thursday held a demonstration in front of the Colombo Fort Railway Station in protest to the grenade attack on Bollywood concert last Saturday, which killed two persons including Mr.Lanka Jayasunthara, photojournalist of Lankadeepa, Sinhala daily newspaper.
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Tokyo Donors recognise UPFA' inability to rein in JVP - Thinnakural Daily

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 December 2004, 12:25 GMT]
In its most recent editorial, the Tamil news daily Thinnakural has welcomed the joint statement issued by the representatives of the co-chairs of the Tokyo Donor Conference, after their meeting with the Sri Lankan President. Hailing the timing of the meeting to coincide with the visit of the Norwegian Special Envoy, Mr. Eric Solheim, to Sri Lanka, the editorial pointed out the long history of JVP's antagonism towards the Norwegian role in the peace process and the inability of the President's UPFA to rein in the contrary view and hostile activities of the JVP.
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Address the JVP problem - Tokyo co-chairs urge President

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 December 2004, 08:42 GMT]
Three of the four co-chairs of the Tokyo Donor Conference, Japan, EU and US, in a joint press release issued Wednesday expressed deep concern about the ongoing JVP-led actions against the peace process in Sri Lanka and the Government of Norway's efforts as facilitator. The representatives expressed "bewilderment" that a "member party of the UPFA" could engage in such a campaign in "absolute contradiction of the clearly stated position of the President and the Government that they endorse and support the Norwegian role". The representatives urged the President to address the problem.
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UPFA budget passed by 105-vote majority

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 December 2004, 18:57 GMT]
Sri Lanka parliament Friday evening adopted the maiden budget for 2005 of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government with a majority of 105 votes at the third reading following the conclusion of committee stage debate, parliamentary sources said.
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Sri Lanka is drifting towards war- Wickremesinghe

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 December 2004, 12:20 GMT]
"The United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government has not taken any forward looking steps towards peace talks or to finding a solution to our pressing national question. Sri Lanka is inexorably drifting towards war with the continued stalemate in peace talks," said Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe, former Prime Minister and leader of the opposition United National Party (UNP) at the 50th year annual convention of UNP held at the Colombo Municipal grounds Sunday morning.
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