SLMM head leaves for Oslo

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 October 2003, 18:58 GMT]
Major General (Retd.) Triggve Teleffsen, head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), left Wednesday for Oslo to brief Norwegian foreign minister about the functioning of the SLMM in Sri Lanka, media sources in Colombo said.
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‘Proud to shed blood to protect Tamils’

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 October 2003, 18:36 GMT]
“We are really proud as Singhalese today because we shed blood to protect our Tamil brethren from the racist thugs”, said Mr. Rohitha Bashana, the main organiser of the Sinhala/Tamil arts festival that was attacked by Sinhala nationalist mobs at the New Town Hall in Colombo Wednesday. Five Singhalese, including two journalists, were injured in the attack. Police officers said that Sinhala nationalists were planning massive, hostile demonstrations against the Sinhala/Tamil arts festival Thursday.
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Norwegian FM responds to SL President's letter

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 October 2003, 15:45 GMT]
The Norwegian Foreign Ministry in a press release Wednesday said that the Foreign Minister, Mr. Jan Petersen, has responded to the letter from Sri Lanka’s President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, in which she referred to incidents on October 16, 2003, involving the Norwegian-led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM). The response described the steps the Government of Norway (GoN) would take in response to her complaints and said that the SLMM would continue its monitoring without change while the GoN looks into the complaints of Ms. Kumaratunga.
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Court hears petition against Sri Lanka's president

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 October 2003, 17:41 GMT]
The Court of Appeal Tuesday decided to inquire into a petition filed by the Public Legal Aid Foundation, challenging the non-establishment of the National Election Commission by President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge and seventeen other respondents, under the 17th amendment to the Constitution, legal sources said.
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Sri Lanka power struggle goes to Supreme Court

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 October 2003, 00:01 GMT]
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in Sri Lanka Monday decided to appoint a panel comprising five judges to hear the application of President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge and to determine whether the Defence Minister of the United National Front government had encroached the power vested with the Executive Presidency of the country under Section 129 of the Constitution, legal sources said.
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Sinhala,Tamil scholars explain joint festival

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 October 2003, 18:29 GMT]
“There is an unfortunate stereotyping of Tamils in the minds of the Singhalese and vice versa. This literary/cultural festival will enable artistes from both sides to discover developments over the last twenty years. This would foster an understanding where it matters”, said Prof. Sucharitha Gamlath, a distinguished and leading Sinhala scholar, addressing a press conference in downtown Colombo Monday on the Tamil/Sinhala cultural festival to be held in Sri Lanka’s capital this week.
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SLFP to hold anti-UNF demo on Deepavali day

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 October 2003, 18:11 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, who is also the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), rejected appeals made by Tamil parliamentarians and Hindu organizations against holding the SLFP’s demonstration against the United National Front government in Colombo on the Deepavali day, Friday, sources said.
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Sri Lanka's President wants SLMM head sacked

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 October 2003, 17:33 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, has requested the Norwegian Prime Minister to remove the head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, Major General (retd.) Triggve Teleffsen, immediately from his post, saying his actions have caused serious doubts in the implementation of the ceasefire agreement, the Presidential Secretariat said Thursday.
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Maj. Gen. Fonseka reproves Jaffna media

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 October 2003, 11:36 GMT]
Commander of Sri Lankan armed forces in Jaffna, Maj. Gen. Sarath Foneseka told a group of northern journalists Tuesday that newspapers in the peninsula publish “half information’ and distorted reports intended to make people angry at the military. Speaking to representatives of the North Ceylon Journalists’ Association about recent attacks on media persons in Jaffna by Sri Lankan armed forces soldiers, he said: “We are not hundred percent happy about the way media people in Jaffna are carrying out their jobs”.
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Jaffna journalists fast to mark colleague’s murder

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 October 2003, 11:30 GMT]
“Today we see those who murdered Nimalarajan walking about freely. Investigations into his foul murder have been going on for long without any progress. But none of his murderers have been brought to book. We have no faith in Sri Lanka’s system of justice”, said Mr. Velupillai Thavachelvam, President of the Jaffna Journalists’ Association, addressing a protest fast Friday in the northern town to mark the third death anniversary of Mr. Mylvaganam Nimalarajan, the well-known Jaffna journalist.
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Security and land Tamils' chief concern – Minister

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 October 2003, 17:13 GMT]
“The Singhalese should decide whether we are going to have a united Sri Lanka or Eelam and Sri Lanka. The peace process may take years. But the conflict should be resolved before the next elections”, said Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, Minister of Lands, speaking at a workshop on ‘Devolution of Power: To what extent in Sri Lanka – Lessons Learnt in Europe’, in Colombo Thursday.
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Teachers protest 'Sinhalization' of Tamil schools

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 October 2003, 15:11 GMT]
The Twenty thousand-member strong Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union (CTTU) Monday warned that it would launch a massive agitation campaign in collaboration with Tamil political parties if the Western Provincial Council failed to stop posting Sinhalese teachers to Tamil medium schools. The People's Allaince (PA) controls the Western Provincial Council administration.
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SLFP to mobilize people support against UNF government

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 October 2003, 01:42 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) has decided to conduct agitation campaign against the policies of the United National Front (UNF) government in Colombo within the next two weeks, party sources said.


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PNM vows to thwart 'foreign attempt to divide' country

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 2003, 17:43 GMT]
The leader of the Patriotic National Movement (PNM), Venerable Elle Gunawanse Thera, addressing the public meeting held at the conclusion of the five-day anti-peace march Wednesday said that the majority Sinhalese people will not allow foreign elements now involved in the peace process to divide the country, sources said.
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JVP awaits invitation to resume talks with SLFP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 2003, 14:42 GMT]
The Sinhala nationalist cum Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) said Wednesday it has not received official invitation from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), chief constituent of the main opposition Peoples Alliance regarding the resumption of failed talks to form a political alliance to oust the present United National Front government from power, political sources said.
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Anti-peace march reaches final stage

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 September 2003, 15:34 GMT]
The final leg of the five day protest march organized by the Patriotic National Movement (PNM), an umbrella group of Sinhala nationalist parties, against what it called the "division of the country" and the proposed establishment of an interim administration in the northeast province, is to start Wednesday morning from Kudawatte towards Lipton's Park in Colombo, organizers said.
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Building up the case for war

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 September 2003, 02:11 GMT]
There is a steadily growing body of opinion among the Singhalese that Colombo’s dealings with the Liberation Tigers amount to nothing but a misguided policy of appeasement and plain treachery. The case for going to war with the Tigers again is being argued in different guises – its rhetorical veils are getting thinner as the ranks of those who oppose the peace process swell with each passing week.
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Failure to devolve power will lead to war, secession - Minister

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 September 2003, 15:08 GMT]
"In a multi-ethnic society devolution of powers is an essential pre-requisite to strengthen local administrations. Secession is inevitable if ruling polities fail to recognize this fact. Sri Lanka has to urgently address this issue if its people are to live in peace and to prevent war breaking out," said Mr. S.B.Dissanayake, Samudri and Agriculure and Livestock Minister in the United National Front (UNF) Government when speaking at the Agricultural Conference held at the Devanayagam Co-opertive theater in Batticaloa, Saturday morning.


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'GOSL should listen to IDP’s demands' - Ezhilan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 September 2003, 15:11 GMT]
"Those who say that the Ceasefire has brought peace and all problems are solved should go to the refugee camps and see the refugees who cannot return to their homes because of the Sri Lanka Army’s occupation of their lands. Only then they will understand the plight of the internally displaced people (IDP) and the fairness of their demands," said Mr. S. Ezhilan, the political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Vavuniya, speaking at the Pongu Thamil event in Vavuniya town Wednesday, sources said.
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Amity to acrimony

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 September 2003, 14:34 GMT]
In the wake of an unsuccessful bid to forge an alliance to topple the ruling United National Front (UNF) government, Sri Lanka’s two largest opposition parties are now at each other’s throats, weekend press reports said. Relations between the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the largest constituent of the main opposition People’s Alliance (PA) and the Janatha Vimukthi Perumana (JVP), the third force in Sinhala politics, have descended into acrimony barely days after alliance talks collapsed.
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