SLMC with UNP, NUA with PA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 October 2001, 20:02 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) led by former Kandy district parliamentarian Mr.Rauff Hakeem has decided to contest the forthcoming general election alone in some districts and in alliance with the main opposition United National Party (UNP) in other districts under the symbol 'Elephant', party sources said. Ms Ferial Ashraff's National Unity Alliance (NUA) has decided to contest the forthcoming general election under the People's Alliance banner.
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Sinhala domination in N-E Youth Camp criticised

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 October 2001, 21:21 GMT]
Tamil and Muslim youths participating in a youth camp organized by the Sri Lanka National Youth Federation in collaboration with the North-East Provincial Council inaugurated Saturday in Trincomalee protested against the organisers for not giving due place to the Tamil language and Tamil culture.
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Parties seek allies for December polls

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 October 2001, 19:58 GMT]
Main political parties in Sri Lanka are having talks to form alliances to contest the December 5 general election. The group of ruling People's Alliance dissidents who crossed over to the opposition has already signed a memorandum of understanding with the main opposition United National Party to contest the forthcoming general election.
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Tigers attack SLA ambush group

[TamilNet, Sunday, 07 October 2001, 06:53 GMT]
A Sri Lanka army soldier was killed and two were wounded in a counter ambush by the Liberation Tigers at Miyankulam junction on the Batticaloa-Colombo highway Saturday night around 11 p.m. military sources in the eastern town said. The soldiers were in an ambush party that had set out from the Miyankulam SLA camp to interdict a crossing point used by the Liberation Tigers. The camp is one of the eight military detachments that guard A 16 – the SLA’s Main Supply Route to the district.
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Tamils propose Prof. Sivathamby too for council

[TamilNet, Saturday, 06 October 2001, 20:00 GMT]
Tamil opposition parties in Sri Lanka's Parliament Saturday night proposed the names of Prof.Karthigesu Sivathamby, Dr.Devanesan Nesaiah, former judge Mr.T.Suntharalingam and former Treasury Secretary Mr.A.Shanmugalingam after a legal hitch precluded the nominee they selected Thursday. The three parties told the Prime Minister to appoint one from among the four names proposed by them to the constitutional council.
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Youth taken off bus, detained in Welikanda

[TamilNet, Saturday, 06 October 2001, 17:12 GMT]
A youth was arrested by the Sri Lankan Police at Welikanda, 60 kilometres northwest of Batticaloa, Saturday morning. The youth was taken off a bus from Batticaloa to Trincomalee by the Police at the Welikanda checkpoint. Police sources said that the youth was detained as he did not have a Sri Lankan security forces ‘clearance pass’ to travel outside Batticaloa.
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Investigators find more in Jaffna hospital grave

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 03 October 2001, 14:49 GMT]
Forensic investigators found more human skeletal remains in a pit dug near the mortuary of the Jaffna Teaching Hospital Wednesday. Medical-legal sources said that the bones appeared to be mostly those of young persons. Bones and teeth that were found in the pit today were taken in three boxes for further forensic examination. The Jaffna courts ordered an investigation after construction workers of the Jaffna Municipal Council who were digging at the site came upon human bones and a saree on 18 September.
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Police arrest Tamils in Colombo, Galle

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 September 2001, 12:44 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police arrested more than forty Tamil civilians were arrested in Colombo and in the southern port town of Galle in search operations during the weekend. Twenty five were taken into custody in the capital and fifteen in Galle. “All the suspects are from the northeast province and are temporary residents. They are being interrogated for possible links with the Liberation Tigers,” Police sources said.
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PA further restrained from expelling SLMC MPs

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 September 2001, 22:46 GMT]
The Colombo District Court Friday extended the enjoining order restraining the Mr.D.M.Jayaretna, General Secretary of the ruling People's Alliance (PA) and three others from expelling three Sri Lanka Muslim Congress parliamentarians A.L.A.Athaullah, M.S.M.Thowfeek and Risvie Sinnalebbe from parliament.
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Pro-Hakeem NUA Parliamentarian retains seat

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 September 2001, 10:39 GMT]
The Supreme Court (SC) held Friday that the expulsion of parliamentarian Basheer Segu Dawood from the National Unity Alliance (NUA) is illegal. The SC, comprised Justices A.R.B.Amerasinghe, H.S.Yapa and C.V.Wigneswaran further ordered the Minister and Leader of the NUA Ms Ferial Ashraff, the first respondent to pay 25,000 Rupees as costs to the petitioner.
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LTTE condemns assassination of senior leader

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 September 2001, 13:09 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in an official statement issued from its headquarters in Vanni Wednesday, strongly condemned the killing of one of its senior leaders, Colonel Shankar. The statement said the LTTE leadership "shares the Tamil people's outrage and treats the killing of a senior leader with utmost gravity."
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Award for senior Tamil journalists stopped

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 September 2001, 16:46 GMT]
Special awards for two senior Tamil journalists were cancelled on a directive by the Sri government, media sources said Tuesday. The North-eastern Provincial Council (NEPC) announced on 2 September that Mr.Ponnaiah Manikavasagam, the correspondent for the Tamil daily Thinakkural in Vavuniya and a regular contributor to the BBC and other international media, would receive the NEPC Governor's special journalism award for 2001. It also announced that Mr. Aiyathurai Nadesan, senior correspondent and political columnist for the Tamil daily Virakesari, would get an award for his book 'The history of the ethnic contradiction in Sri Lanka' published last year. The awards for the two senior Tamil journalists were stopped for political reasons, an official of the NEPC said.
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Family killed in Jaffna mine blast

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 September 2001, 10:41 GMT]
Six members of a family were killed when the autorickshaw in which they were travelling was hit by a landmine blast at Irupalai Junction in Jaffna around 6 a.m. Monday morning. The driver of the auto-rickshaw taxi was seriously wounded in the blast. His condition is critical, Jaffna Teaching Hospital sources said.
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UNP to oppose PA-JVP sponsored 17th amendment

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 September 2001, 15:28 GMT]
The Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party said Wednesday that it would not support the 17th amendment to constitution drafted jointly by the ruling People's Alliance and Marxist Janata Vimukthi Peramuna. "Several vital clauses included in the draft 17th amendment prepared by the UNP led joint opposition including the JVP earlier have not been incorporated in the present draft bill. Therefore my party is not in a position to support the PA-JVP sponsored draft bill," said Mr.Karu Jayasuriya, Deputy Leader of the UNP and Colombo district parliamentarian.
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Sinhala nationalists jeer peace supporters

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 September 2001, 11:41 GMT]
Sinhala Nationalist protestors disrupted 'SriLankaFirst', a massive peace campaign organised by Sri Lanka's big businesses and major NGOs near downtown Colombo Wednesday. A procession of Sihala Urumauya (SU) activists and supporters that was on its way to the US Embassy to express solidarity with the American government jeered and insulted people who were holding hands in the 'SriLankaFirst' peace campaign near the city hall in Colombo.
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World Bank questions Jaffna development

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 September 2001, 15:51 GMT]
(NEWS FEATURE) Ahead of the visit to Sri Lanka on Wednesday by a World Bank team intending to study the government’s poverty alleviation plans, its local Director slammed the activities in Jaffna of the Ministry of Northern Development. Dr. Mariana Todorova says that whilst almost two thousand people are being employed there by the Ministry, not one person has actually benefited from its activities. The Ministry is headed by Douglas Devananda, leader of the paramilitary Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP).
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Human rights seminar spotlights victims' sufferings

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 September 2001, 21:10 GMT]
Speakers at the human rights seminar held Saturday in Trincomalee appealed to the SriLankan Government that provincial high courts be allowed to hear and determine violations cases filed by victims of torture and illegal arrests.
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Dialogue with LTTE vital for humanitarian ops. -ICRC

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 September 2001, 16:51 GMT]
"The LTTE is a major party to the conflict. As such the present dialogue with the LTTE is vital for the continuance of the ICRC's humanitarian services to the people in Vanni and the rest of the country," said Mr.Harasha Gunawardene, the ICRC's press officer, addressing a press conference held Wednesday morning at Trincomalee Seven Islands Hotel.
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Tigers counter attack SLA ambush

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 September 2001, 13:20 GMT]
A Sri Lanka army soldier was killed and another was seriously wounded when a group of Liberation Tigers counter attacked a SLA ambush party at Adampan junction, eight kilometres south east of Mannar, Wednesday morning. A firefight erupted as the LTTE group walked into an ambush by three teams from the nearby SLA camp in Maanthai around 9 a.m. sources said. The Tigers had then taken up position to counter attack the SLA ambush teams, killing one and seriously injuring another.
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PA - JVP pact is a serious blow to peace - LTTE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 September 2001, 06:50 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers said Monday that the formation of a probationary government with an alliance between the People's Alliance (PA) regime and the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) effected a serious blow to the peace process in Sri Lanka. Commenting on the current political developments in Colombo, Mr. Anton Balasingham, the LTTE's chief negotiator and political advisor told the Tamil Guardian newspaper that one of the clauses of the 'Memorandum of Understanding' reached between the PA and the JVP strictly forbids any discussions on proposals relating to the solution to the Tamil national question.
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