Protest stops SLA from putting back Chavakachcheri FDL

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 February 2004, 00:55 GMT]
The Sri Lanka army stopped efforts Wednesday to put its forward defence line (FDL) back in its original place in the Chavakachcheri high security zone following protests by families that got back their garrisoned homes from the military last weekend. The SLA pulled back the defence perimeter of its high security zone in two places on the outskirts of Chavakachcheri during the weekend to release about 79 war damaged and destroyed homes, including urban council quarters, to families that were displaced when the military garrisoned the area more than three years ago.
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Polling stations considered in no-man zones

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 February 2004, 00:26 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Commissioner of Elections, Mr.Dayananda Dissanayake, has summoned all District Returning Officers and District Assistant Commissioners of Elections for a top level conference on Saturday at his office in Colombo to finalize locating polling booths for voters in Liberation Tigers-held areas in the Northeast province and also other related matters, authoritative sources said.
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TNA discussions on election strategy to continue

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 February 2004, 00:02 GMT]
The second round of discussions among the leaders of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to map out their election strategy concluded Wednesday night with a decision to meet again for the third round of talks on Sunday evening in Colombo. TNA parliamentary group leader Mr.R.Sampanthan presided. The first round of talks was held Tuesday evening, TNA sources said.
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SL President dismisses 39 non-cabinet, deputy ministers

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 February 2004, 14:46 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge Wednesday removed 27 non-cabinet ministers and 12 deputy ministers from the United National Front government. She exercised power vested with her under Article 47 of the constitution in issuing the dismissal order, presidential secretariat sources said.
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Sri Lanka President proposes truce committee

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 February 2004, 13:02 GMT]
Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga proposed a committee to discuss matters relating to the implementation of the ceasefire agreement with the Liberation Tigers. The President made the proposal during a meeting with the head of the Sri Lanka truce monitoring mission, Maj. Gen. Tronde Furuhovde Wednesday in Colombo.
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Former colleague slams Sri Lanka's President

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 February 2004, 11:46 GMT]
Mr. S. B Dissanayaka, MP, a controversial Minister in Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's cabinet, called Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga an utter liar and fraud, addressing a press conference in Colombo Wednesday.
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Court extends enjoining order on TULF

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 February 2004, 08:51 GMT]
The Colombo district court Wednesday extended the enjoining order preventing the Secretary General and Senior Vice President of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) from convening party meetings without the written permission of TULF President Anandasangaree to 16 March 2004. The extension of the enjoining order would stymie plans by the Tamil National Alliance to contest elections to Sri Lanka’s Parliament on the TULF’s ‘rising sun’ symbol, Tamil legal sources said.
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Chandrasekaran briefs TNA leaders on alliance

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 February 2004, 18:24 GMT]
Leaders of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) held extensive discussion Tuesday to map out their election strategy to contest the forthcoming general election. The discussion commenced at about 5 p.m. at the Colombo headquarters of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), and was concluded at 10 p.m with a decision to meet again on Wednesday evening to finalize electoral arrangements, TNA sources said.
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ACTC rejects voting for policy, symbol

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 February 2004, 12:40 GMT]
Mr. Appathurai Vinayagamoorthy, the leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, a constituent of the Tamil National Alliance, told TamilNet Tuesday that his party will not agree to contest the forthcoming general elections on the basis of symbol and policy. He said his party will decide whether to join the TNA or not only after Mr. Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, MP who is currently abroad, returns to Colombo later this week.
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TNA leaders to meet in Colombo over election strategy

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 February 2004, 18:30 GMT]
Leaders of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) are scheduled to meet Tuesday evening at the Colombo office of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) to work out a common election agenda to field candidates at the forthcoming general election.
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Dissolution of Sri Lanka Parliament unethical - G.L

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 February 2004, 07:10 GMT]
"The dissolution of Parliament is unethical", said Prof. G.L Pieris, spokesman for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's care taker government addressing a press conference in Colombo Monday.
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LTTE blames sinhala leaders for lack of political will and vision

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 February 2004, 19:24 GMT]
“The dissolution of the Sri Lankan parliament and the call for a snap election constitutes a grave set-back to the peace process. The decision to seek another mandate from the people clearly demonstrates the fact that the Sinhala political leadership lacks the political will and vision to resolve the country’s burning issue - the Tamil national question,” said Mr Anton Balasingham, the LTTE’s political advisor and theoretician commenting on the current political developments in Colombo.
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ADB gives 30 m rupees to Jaffna fishermen

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 February 2004, 17:24 GMT]
The Asian Development Bank Saturday disbursed thirty million rupees to eighteen fishermen's societies on Jaffna's Vadamaradchi coast. The function to hand over the ADB fund cheques was held Saturday at the office of the Sea Tigers in Maruthankerni, on the peninsula's southeastern coast.
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SLA sergeant commits suicide in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 February 2004, 16:25 GMT]
Mr.N.P. Piyatilake, 42-year-old sergeant of the Sri Lanka Army attached to the Achchelu camp in Jaffna district, committed suicide by shooting himself on Friday afternoon in his room, police said.
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EU assures support to North-East development

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 February 2004, 15:22 GMT]
Mr. John Cushnahan, Member of the European Parliament, Friday assured the visiting delegation of the Liberation Tigers’ political division in Brussels, Belgium, that the European Union would provide support for the rehabilitation and development of the North-East, LTTE sources said.
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Railway strike called off in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 February 2004, 17:38 GMT]
The ten day general railway strike in Sri Lanka was called off Friday night after Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s government gave an assurance that it will consider reversing the process to run the island’s railways under a semi government authority. More than thirty trade unions in Sri Lanka’s railway system backed by the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna started the strike on 26 January demanding that Colombo should abolish the Railway Authority established under World Bank, IMF conditions six moths ago.
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Marxists, Kumaratunga alliance registered as new party

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 February 2004, 16:58 GMT]
The alliance between President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna was registered as a political party with the Commissioner of Elections Friday. Mr. Nandana Gunathilleka, MP of the JVP has been named President and Mr. Susil Premajayantha, MP, of the SLFP has been nominated the secretary of the new party. A spokesman for the JVP-SLFP alliance said the Commissioner of Elections has approved ‘Butterfly’ as the new party’s symbol.
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Jaffna IDP protest concluded

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 February 2004, 13:12 GMT]
The fast unto death protest in Chavakachcheri and Tellipalai in Jaffna were concluded Friday after assurances by Tamil National Alliance MPs and a senior official from the Prime Minister’s Office in Colombo. However, several internally displaced persons (IDPs) who took part and supported the protest fast criticized TNA MPs for intervening in the protest for political gain.
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Tamil national unity forum launched in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 February 2004, 17:46 GMT]
“The greatest challenge before the Tamil people today is the coming together of Sinhala chauvinist forces bent on denying our rights. The alliance between JVP and President Kumaratunga’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party has gathered all the Sinhala chauvinist forces in strength under one umbrella. There is only one way for the Tamils to face this challenge – we should unite now regardless of our regional differences”, said Mr. Selvam Adaikalanthan, Tamil National Alliance for the Vanni, addressing the first forum to unite all Tamil political parties and groups in Sri Lanka Thursday.
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Colombo paralyzed by confrontational politics - NPC

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 February 2004, 15:07 GMT]
While saying "...the new alliance provides an opportunity for a common approach to national problem solving if taken forward in a principled manner," National Peace Council (NPC)expressed its disappointment that the alliance has "failed to deal with the central issue of the political solution to the ethnic conflict in a coherent or principled manner...JVP holds to the unitary state and opposes an ethnicity-based solution, the SLFP has proposed the devolution of power to the regions," in a media release issued in Colombo today.
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