UNP digs in over parliament

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 August 2001, 19:36 GMT]
Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, Leader of the Opposition said Thursday that the fate of the present government will be decided on September 7 when parliament is reconvened. Addressing the protest rally organized by the Alliance for Democracy at the Town Hall in Colombo, Mr.Wickremasinghe said, "my party is not prepared to give a new lease of life to the People's Alliance government which is now on the verge of collapse due to its bad governance."
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UNP ready for conditional talks with PA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 August 2001, 11:21 GMT]
The leader of Sri Lanka’s main opposition party said Thursday that his United National Party (UNP) was prepared to hold discussions with the ruling People's Alliance government to find a solution to the country’s political and economic crises. "However, these discussions should be based on the acceptance of the democratic policies and the concepts of parliamentary majority," Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe stressed in a letter to Sri Lanka’s Prime Minster, Ratnasiri Wickremanayake. The UNP leader has said that proposed talks could commence Friday.
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Anti-government demonstration in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 August 2001, 09:45 GMT]
Thousands of demonstrators Thursday afternoon around 2 p.m. started marching towards Colombo Town Hall to attend a mass rally organised by the People's Alliance for Democracy, demanding President Chandrika Kumaratunge to reconvene the Parliament and cancel the proposed referendum for a new constitution.
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President says Dissanayake "dishonest"

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 August 2001, 17:30 GMT]
A senior minister and General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, Mr.S.B.Dissanayake, is likely to make a decision shortly whether to continue in the government or to leave, following a letter sent to him by President Chandrika Kumaratunge, ruling party sources said. The President stated in her letter that she has lost confidence in Mr.Dissanayake as he had violated financial regulations and government's directives in running the ministry of Samurdhi (Poverty Alleviation).
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Senior Minister admits differences with President

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 August 2001, 18:50 GMT]
The General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, Mr.S.B.Dissanayake Monday said "difference of opinion has arisen between him and President Chandrika Kumaratunge over fulfilling the aspirations of people". Mr.Dissanayake, the Minister of Samurdhi (Poverty Alleviation), Human Development and Parliamentary Affairs added "however these differences could be sorted out through negotiations." Ms.Chandrika Kumaratunge holds the post of President of Sri Lanka Freedom Party. The SLFP is the major constituent party of the ruling People's Alliance.
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Opposition plans massive rally, urges president's resignation

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 August 2001, 19:36 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party has launched a campaign to mobilize support of the people for its massive protest rally scheduled to be held in Colombo on August 23 Thursday, opposition party source said. Senior leaders of the UNP have been attending awareness meetings in several towns in the country to get more people to Colombo to attend the proposed rally, organised by The Alliance for Democracy organizes the rally, the sources said.
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No portfolios after handing in resignations -UNP

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 August 2001, 16:07 GMT]
The United National Party said Sunday that deputy ministers who have submitted undated resignation letters to President Chandrika Kumaratunga cannot hold on to their portfolios and enjoy privileges and other facilities they enjoyed earlier. A UNP spokesman said that his party is contemplating legal action if the government ministers who submitted undated resignation letters to the President, purportedly as a reiteration of their confidence in her, do not relinquish their portfolios forthwith. "They have no moral right now to stay on," said an opposition spokesman. Government sources, however, dismissed the UNP's call, saying that the letters of resignation are undated.
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UNP calls for dissolution of parliament

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 August 2001, 00:20 GMT]
The United National Party has called for "the immediate dissolution of the parliament and a general election held thereafter if there is no possibility of debating the no-confidence motion". Mr.Gamini Atukorale, Deputy Leader of the main opposition United National Party made this call addressing meeting at Kandy Friday evening.
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Controversial weapon meant for genocide alleges MP

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 August 2001, 14:26 GMT]
"The Sri Lankan government is going to deploy chemical weapons against the Tamils in the island's north and east. The aim is to annihilate them totally. The use of this dangerous chemical weapon against the Tamil people should be strongly condemned," said Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, Tamil United Liberation Front MP for Batticaloa, addressing legislators who gathered Friday in the Sri Lankan Parliament and decided to press ahead with the no confidence motion against President Kumaratunga's government.
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SL crisis deepens as majority legislators stake claim

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 August 2001, 12:17 GMT]
The majority of the members of the Sri Lankan Parliamentarian met in the legislature Friday and unanimously resolved to go ahead with the no confidence motion against President Chandrika Kumaratunga's government and defy any attempt by her to suspend Parliament again.
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"Economy in shambles, law and order breakdown"- opposition

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 August 2001, 19:58 GMT]
"The economy is in shambles. There is no law and order. The government has no majority in parliament. The government is not in a position to present the budget," said Dr.Karunasena Kodituwakku, Media Spokesman and parliamentarian of the United National Party (UNP), addressing opposition demonstrators at Kolonnawa, an outer suburb of Colombo, Thursday. The Marxist Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) demonstrated against President Kumaratunga's government Thursday in front of the island's central railway station in downtown Colombo, despite reports that the party might help her stay in power.
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Kumaratunga impervious to power sharing -legal expert

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 August 2001, 15:41 GMT]
"The prorogation of the Parliament was legal but it was used to foist an unconstitutional action on the people," said Dr.Rohan Edirisingha, a legal and constitutional expert with the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Colombo, speaking at seminar for Tamil journalists Monday. Responding to a question on the prospects of a national government Dr.Edirisingha said: "President Chandrika Kumaratunga is totally unaware of the implications of power sharing." The two-day seminar Media Freedom and Human Rights was organised by the Tamil Media Alliance and the Home for Human Rights in Colombo.
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JVP re-iterates conditional support to PA

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 August 2001, 18:56 GMT]
The Marxist-Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Saturday said that it would support a probation government while continuing to be in opposition, without accepting positions in government. Mr.Wimal Weerawanse, Propaganda Secretary and a Parliamentarian, said in an interview with the State-run Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation that his party's proposal to form a probation government has been made to President Chandrika Kumaratunge, to "save the country from economic disaster and political anarchy."
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France refutes visa denial claim

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 August 2001, 20:48 GMT]
The French Foreign Ministry Friday denied claims by the Sri Lankan information department and state media that it had denied entry to the Liberation Tigers‚ chief negotiator Anton Balasingham and other individuals alleged by Sri Lanka to be linked to the LTTE. A spokesman for the French government, quoted the Foreign Minister Hubert Verdrine, said "We have not banned any particular persons or members of any particular organisations from entering France."
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President receptive to JVP's proposals

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 August 2001, 17:10 GMT]
President Chandrika Kumaratunge Friday agreed to discuss the Marxist Janata Vimukthi Peramuna's political proposals with the leaders of constituent parties in the ruling People's Alliance. The JVP's parliamentary group leader Wimal Weerawanse said, "the President has agreed to a number of proposals in our program. She wanted more time to discuss with her political allies about the proposal to form a probation government."
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TULF appeals against Army offensive

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 August 2001, 10:22 GMT]
The Tamil United Liberation Front Friday urged President Chandrika Kumaratunge to instruct the Sri Lanka Army to stop launching a major operation in eastern province. "The intended military operation will cause mass destruction and loss of life among civilians. I wish to point out that this type of operation will not be tolerated by any right thinking people, in particular by the international community" said Mr.V.Anandasangaree, Senior Vice President of the TULF in a letter faxed tothe President.
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President-JVP to have crucial talks on Friday

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 August 2001, 14:15 GMT]
The Marxist-Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) said Thursday that it would have talks with President Chandrika Kumaratunge Friday afternoon about the formation of "a probation government".
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TULF urges President to start talks with LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 August 2001, 07:00 GMT]
The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) Wednesday urged Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunge to pursue the Norwegian peace initiative and commence negotiations with the Liberation Tigers before framing a new constitution. A press statement issued by the TULF, after meeting the President on Wednesday, said that the party had urged the President to "reconvene Parliament and also not to proceed with the referendum."
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Referendum postponed

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 August 2001, 15:21 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunge in a proclamation issued Tuesday evening postponed for October 18 the referendum which has been scheduled to be held on August 21.
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Tamil coalition to campaign against referendum

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 August 2001, 17:22 GMT]
A coalition of 11 Tamil and Muslim political parties Monday decided to campaign against the August 21 referendum for a new constitution. The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), Democratic Workers Congress Party, Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), People's Liberation Organisation Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), Muslim United Liberation Front (MULF), Democratic Worker's Congress were among the parties that participated in the meeting held in Colombo Tuesday.
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