SLFP candidate attacked in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 April 2010, 05:56 GMT]
Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) candidate Ramanathan Ankajan contesting Jaffna electorate and his supporters were attacked around Wednesday midnight between Aanaipanthi and Aariyaku’lam on Jaffna-Point Pedro road by a group of armed men alleged to be of Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), sources in Jaffna said. Three supporters of Ankajan are said to be abducted at gun point by the armed men who had set fire to one of the vehicles of Ankajan group. Ankajan and his supporters were engaged in making arrangements to welcome President Mahinda Rajapakse who is expected to visit Jaffna Thursday. Conflicting interests between the candidates of SLFP and EPDP who are contesting jointly in ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) ticket may be the cause for the attack, the sources added. There were no army soldiers or police present at the location during the attack, the sources added.
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Mahinda Rajapakse to engage in election campaign in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 31 March 2010, 21:09 GMT]
President Mahinda Rajapakse is expected to arrive in Jaffna Thursday to address a public meeting to be held in Duraippaa Stadium Thursday arranged by Eelam Peoples’ Democratic Party (EPDP), an ally of ruling United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance (UPFA), EPDP sources in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, Varatharaja Perumal, the leader of Eelam Peoples’ Revolutionary Front (EPRLF Varathar faction) and the former Chief Minister of North-East provincial council, arrived in Jaffna Wednesday, sources in Jaffna said.
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59,000 police, 20,000 army personnel to be deployed for election duty

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 March 2010, 17:27 GMT]
Fifty-nine thousand police personnel and twenty thousand soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army are to be deployed on the polling day that falls on April 8 for election duty and to maintain law and order, according to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mahinda Balasuriya.
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Monitors to be allowed to observe counting in April poll

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 March 2010, 05:25 GMT]
The Commissioner of Elections Dayananda Dissanayake Friday announced that election monitors would be allowed to be present and supervise counting in counting centres in the forthcoming general election. He made this announcement at a conference he had with representatives of political parties Friday in his Election Secretariat in Rajagiriya. One member from each monitoring group would be allowed to be present in each counting centre, he added.
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CMEV reports malpractice in postal voting in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 March 2010, 05:22 GMT]
The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) reported several instances of illegal canvassing near postal voting centres located in government buildings as postal voting concluded in Sri Lanka Friday. Field monitors of the CMEV reported an incident in which two women claimed to be representatives of Basil Rajapakse, brother of President Mahinda Rajapakse, who is contesting in the Gampaha district on the UPFA ticket, collected details of individual postal voters at Mirigama Education Office.
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Coup in The Hindu means more than a family feud

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 March 2010, 19:35 GMT]
Battle for control breaks out in The Hindu, very divided family, reported Indian Express Thursday. At the heart of this battle is the proposed retirement of publisher and the group Editor-in-Chief N Ram and his decision to dig his heels in. According to people close to the developments, the board is split, one group supporting Ram and the other seeking his retirement, Indian Express reported further. In the corporate dictated scenario of polity in India, the coup means more than a family feud – a panic in the Indian corporate world over a failed course and scurried attempts to revise it, political observers said. Similar tensions are noticed in recent times in India’s External Affairs and Home establishments too, the observers further said.
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BBC: Fox and Love lobbied for Sri Lanka after junkets

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 March 2010, 04:00 GMT]
Two British MPs, Mr. Andy Love of the ruling Labour party, and Dr. Liam Fox of the main opposition Conservative party, made visits to Sri Lanka paid for by the government there, and while not declaring their trips, spoke in support of Sri Lanka in parliament, a BBC investigation has revealed. Both MPs were hosted by Mahinda Rajapakse regime in the past three years amid Sri Lanka’s onslaught in which tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were killed. Mr. Fox, some of whose trips coincided with international outrage over the ongoing slaughter, told the BBC his visits were to “promote peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.” Following his second visit in 2008, Mr. Love urged British ministers to send more aid to Sri Lanka.
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Rajapaksa to address election rally in Trincomalee, army tightens security

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 March 2010, 16:42 GMT]
Trincomalee town has been put under red alert from Friday night by the Sri Lanka Army as the President Mahinda Rajapakse is scheduled to address the main election rally in Trincomalee Mc Heyzer Stadium Sunday morning in support of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) candidates contesting the forthcoming general election.
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Government engaged in Sinhalese colonization in Kokkaavil – Suresh Premachandran

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 March 2010, 18:17 GMT]
Suresh Premachandran, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) former Jaffna parliamentarian and a TNA candidate contesting Jaffna electorate, accused Sri Lanka government of systematically colonizing Kokkaavil in Mullaiththevu district along A9 road with Sinhalese, in the TNA election campaign meeting held Thursday in Chuzhipuram-Tholpuram area, sources in Jaffna said. He also accused Sri Lanka Army (SLA) officers and soldiers of dismantling the vehicles abandoned by Vanni residents when they were driven to Mu’l’livaaikkaal and selling the parts in Vavuniyaa and Anuradapura making huge profit.
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“1978 Constitution places me above the Law” - Sri Lanka's President

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 March 2010, 11:15 GMT]
“Republic Constitution of 1978 brought by the then J. R. Jayawardene government places me above the Law. Accordingly judiciary cannot take action against me. The consititution empowers me to punish any soldier of the Sri Lanka Army who works against the country,” Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse said Tuesday while addressing an election rally in support of Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollogama held at Kotte, according media reports from Colombo.
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“Mahinda’s Sinhala regime will swallow Eastern Province in 10 years” – Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 March 2010, 17:53 GMT]
“Mahinda Rajapakse’’s Sinhala regime plans to take over the Eastern Province under its complete control by wiping out Tamil representation but Tamil National Alliance will certainly defeat this insidious plan,” R. Sampanthan, leader of TNA, said addressing the first TNA election campaign meeting in Jaffna district held Wednesday at Aavarangkaal, sources in Jaffna said. “In the context of Tamil representation being reduced in Eastern Province TNA can only get maximum representation in the North and therefore all the voters in Jaffna district should help to achieve this by casting their votes to TNA,” Sampanthan appealed.
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Expert panel for Sri Lanka will not infringe on sovereignty – Ban Ki-moon

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 March 2010, 07:09 GMT]
The panel of experts being set up by the United Nations as part of an accountability process following the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka will not infringe on the country’s sovereignty, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday. Mr. Ban told journalists that the establishment of the panel is in line with a joint statement he issued with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa during his visit to the country last May after Government forces defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), according to UN News Centre press release Tuesday.
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Election campaign gains momentum in Jaffna peninsula

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 March 2010, 16:28 GMT]
Election campaign activities by contesting political parties and independent groups have gained momentum in Jaffna peninsula and leaders of political parties including President Mahinda Rajapakse of United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), R. Sampanthan of Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Ranil Wickremasinghe of United National Party (UNP) and Somaratne Amarasinghe of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) are expected to come to the peninsula to engage in electioneering, sources in Jaffna said.
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Colombo accuses Amnesty of bias

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 March 2010, 11:51 GMT]
Responding to Amnesty International's media release that a leaked list in Colombo "reveal[ing] the names of 35 leading journalists and NGO officers of interest to the country’s secret services," was "believed to be compiled by the Sri Lanka Intelligence Unit," Sri Lanka's Defence Spokesperson, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, said that "gross allegations were being made against the [Sri Lanka] government, and organizations such as AI were continuing this trend," and "accused AI of being biased despite the [Sri Lanka] government having discussions with them in the past."
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Protest held in Colombo against Sarath Fonseka court martial

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 March 2010, 16:33 GMT]
Hundreds of supporters of the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) led by Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Monday held a protest in Fort in Colombo demanding the scrap of military tribunal appointed by President Mahinda Rajapakse to charge the defeated common opposition presidential candidate General (retd) Fonseka.
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International observers to monitor counting in general election

[TamilNet, Sunday, 14 March 2010, 15:54 GMT]
International monitors will be deployed at all counting centres in the twenty-two electoral districts during the forthcoming general election that is scheduled to be held on April 8, Commissioner of Elections Dayananda Dissanayake told party leaders at a meeting held Friday in his secretariat. He added that he is prepared to invite international monitors to observe counting of votes at counting centres following a request made by the main opposition United National Party (UNP).
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Dissolved parliament to meet second time on April 6 to extend emergency

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 March 2010, 04:51 GMT]
The dissolved Sri Lanka parliament is to be reconvened for the second time on April 6 to extend the State of Emergency for another month. The dissolved parliament was reconvened last on March 9 to ratify the gazette notification issued by the President Mahinda Rajapakse extending the State of Emergency for another month. According to the constitution, the gazette notification should be ratified within ten days by the parliament.
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Fonseka to be produced before Court Martial on March 16

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 March 2010, 04:47 GMT]
General (retired) Sarath Fonseka who unsuccessfully contested the January presidential poll will be produced before court martial on March 16 and 17 on seven counts under the Army Act. The bench of the court martial comprises Major General H. L. Weeratunge (Chairman), Major General A. C. R. Wijetunge and Major General D. R. A. Jayatilake, according to Military Spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe.
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Jaffna Technical College principal compels students to campaign for Mahinda Rajapakse’s party

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 March 2010, 14:27 GMT]
Jaffna Technical College Students Union (JTCSU) raised accusation against Yogarajan, their principal and President Mahinda Rajapakse’s Alliance candidate in the parliamentary election, for compelling them to campaign for Mahinda Rajapakse’s Alliance. Yogarajan had welcomed Namal Rajapakse, President Mahinda Rajapakse’s eldest son and his ‘Blue Warriors’ group accompanying him when they arrived in Jaffna Tuesday to canvas votes for his father’s party, JTCSU said.
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China lends Sri Lanka $290m for development

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 March 2010, 12:30 GMT]
China has completed arrangements through its funding arm, Exim Bank, to provide $290m in concessionary development loans to Sri Lanka, Reuters reported. $190m of the loan is to develop a second airport in Matara and the other $100m is to improve the railways. China was the largest foreign funding source for Sri Lanka in 2009 with $1.2 billion followed by the Asian Development Bank with $424 million, according to the same report. The 2009 funds were allocated to build roads, coal power project in the Eastern province, and a port in Sri Lanka's President's electorate in Hambantota.
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