2008 Budget debate to begin Friday

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 November 2007, 19:39 GMT]
The debate on the second reading of the 2008 Budget presented by Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse in the capacity of Minister of Finance in the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government is to begin Friday. The voting on the second reading would take place on November 19, parliamentary sources said.
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SLA deployed to beef up security around Yala sanctuary

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 November 2007, 18:51 GMT]
More than two thousand soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) have been deployed to conduct search operation in the Yala national sanctuary since the recovery of dead bodies of Sinhalese villagers. Sri Lanka Army (SLA) camps and eight police sentries have been set up in villages in Tihssamaharama, around the sanctuary.
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Two more bodies recovered in Thissamaharama

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 November 2007, 10:05 GMT]
Thissemaharama Police has recovered two more dead bodies of Sinhalese cattle herders with cut injuries at Bambarawa in Yala sanctuary in southern Sri Lanka Wednesday night. Earlier on Monday, the police recovered 3 bodies at the same location with cut injuries. Thissemaharama division is situated in the constituency of the Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa.
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UNP decides to vote against 2008 Budget

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 November 2007, 16:49 GMT]
The parliamentary group of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) Wednesday met after the delivery of the 2008 budget by the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse and unanimously decided to vote against the budget. The crucial vote on the 2008 budget is to take place on November 19 amid claims and counter claims by the ruling party and the main opposition party that cross over of parliamentarians from both sides.
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Rajapaksa claims victory in isolating Tigers Internationally

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 November 2007, 14:33 GMT]
Claiming that Sri Lanka has managed to curb overseas operations of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) with the assistance of many countries, the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, presenting the 2008 Budget in the Sri Lankan parliament Wednesday, vowed to "completely eradicate terrorism," if an environment in which a "political solution upholding human rights" in the interest of those who are "still in the grips of terrorists" is to be created. This could not be achieved by taking a divided approach by defaming each other [in the south], by neglecting the needs of the security forces or by ignoring their advise, Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa told the Parliament.
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Police recover 3 civilian dead bodies in Yala

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 November 2007, 09:40 GMT]
Thissemaharama Police has recovered three dead bodies of Sinhalese cattle herders with cut injuries at Bambarawa in Yala sanctuary in southern Sri Lanka Monday evening. Thissemaharama division is situated in the constituency of the Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa.
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Rajapaksa to deliver budget speech on November 7

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 November 2007, 17:37 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa is to table 2008-Budget in parliament on November 07. This would be his third budget since he assumed presidency in 2005. The Appropriation Bill 2008 was tabled in parliament in the month of October. The parliament will begin the debate on the 2008 budget soon after President leaves after presenting it.
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British parliamentarian Liam Fox to visit Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 November 2007, 16:46 GMT]
British parliamentarian Liam Fox who is the shadow Defence Minister of the main opposition Conservative Party is to arrive in Sri Lanka on November 5 on a three–day tour at the invitation of the government led by President Mahinda Rajapakse. Rohitha Bogollagama, the Sri Lankan foreign minister, has extended the invitation to him, the Sunday Leader reported.
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Rape by Sri Lankan troops resurfaces – in Haiti

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 November 2007, 07:31 GMT]
The United Nations has asked Sri Lanka to prosecute ‘to the fullest extent of the law’ 108 Sri Lankan soldiers with the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti for sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of minors, including prostitution, the Sunday Times reported. The number is one of the biggest single withdrawal of soldiers from a UN peacekeeping mission. During the conflict numerous local and international NGOs protested both frequent rapes by security forces and the climate of impunity in which they occur.
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Jubilant Sri Lanka threatens to wipe Tigers out

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 November 2007, 13:27 GMT]
Hailing the Air Force bombing raid Friday which killed the Tamil Tigers chief negotiator and Political Wing head, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan and five other LTTE officials, Sri Lankan Defence Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa said his government would kill other LTTE leaders ‘one by one’. Sources said he made his comments, quoted by Reuters, at a celebratory meeting at Temple Trees, the official residence of President Mahinda Rajapakse, who is also Mr. Gotabaya’s brother. Meanwhile, the Colombo stock market soared on news of the deaths.
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'Targeted killing of LTTE Chief Negotiator shatters hopes for peace' - TNA

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 November 2007, 11:11 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s largest Tamil political party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Friday expressed its shock at the killing in a government airstrike of Mr S. P. Thamilchelvan the LTTE’s Chief Negotiator and head of its Political Wing and five other LTTE officials. The TNA said the targeted killing of the LTTE’s Chief Negotiator underlined President Mahinda Rajapakse’s insincerity towards a negotiated solution, the TNA also said.
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Rajapaksa to withdraw newly imposed censorship

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 31 October 2007, 17:59 GMT]
Sri Lankan Presidential Secretariat Wednesday night said the SL President Mahinda Rajapapaksa would withdraw the special gazette notification which he issued on 29 October, imposing censorship in Sri Lanka, by issuing another official Gazatte withdrawal notification, on Thursday. The announcement of the scheduled withdrawal comes following wide publicity on the censorship measures.
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Sri Lanka imposes censorship

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 31 October 2007, 14:01 GMT]
The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has decided to impose censorship on the press under the Public Security Ordinance on news reporting related to military confrontations and offensive operations, informed officials in Colombo said. The clamp down on the press comes in the wake of the recent Tiger military operation on Anuradhapura airbase and increased guerilla attacks in southern Sri Lanka.
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Torture widespread in Sri Lanka- UN

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 October 2007, 02:50 GMT]
Mr.Manfred Nowak, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Human Rights Abuse, said today that the brutal practice of torture is widespread in Sri Lanka, and “prone to become routine in the context of counter-terrorism operations,” in a press release issued Tuesday by the United Nations. Mr Nowak visited Sri Lanka during the first week of October, and held discussions with Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse and other highlevel officials.
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APRC on hiatus

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 October 2007, 12:56 GMT]
Despite claims by Colombo media in early August that the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) formed by Sri Lanka's President Rajapakse has met with "sudden death," amid opposition from SLFP, MEP and the JHU to the "unit of devolution" ahead of the Committee report deadline of 15 August, the APRC discussions were resurrected; the latest on the resilient APRC is that after the 51st sitting on the 23rd October, the APRC is taking a 2 month recess, reports from Colombo said. The current status: APRC is "exploring the possibility of reaching consensus among the political parties on power sharing."
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Sri Lanka knocks ABC's radio services off the air

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 October 2007, 06:31 GMT]
One of the main sources of breaking news in Sri Lanka, five FM Radio services, operated by Asian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), has been silenced by Government of Sri Lanka in the early hours of Friday, following the controversy over a news report that alleged five civilians were gunned down near Wirawila airbase, on Wednesday, in the Southern Province Hambantota district, the electorate of the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
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6 SLN killed in Tiger ambush in Hambantota

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 October 2007, 12:02 GMT]
A guerilla commando unit of Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) Thursday evening ambushed a Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) vehicle, a bus carrying more than 25 SLN personnel, in Thissamaharama in the Hambantota division of the southern province, killing 6 SLN personnel, LTTE military spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan told TamilNet. Claiming that the attack was a gunfire ambush, Mr. Ilanthirayan said 12 SLN personnel were wounded in the attack that took place at 16:35 p.m. Thissamaharama division is situated in the constituency of the Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa.
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New Judicial complex opened in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 October 2007, 22:05 GMT]
The World Bank funded newly built five story Judicial Complex located in the central part of Jaffna town was officially opened Wednesday 10:55a.m. by Chief Justice (CJ) Sarath N. Silva. A high level delegation of officials including Minsterial dignitaries, and World Bank Representative in Sri Lanka arrived at Palaali airport, and were then flown by Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) helicopter to Duraiappah Stadium for participation in the opening ceremony.
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Convicts used as cover for Sinhala colonization in East- MP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 October 2007, 18:22 GMT]
Batticaloa District Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian S.Jeyananthamoorthy in a letter addressed to the President of Sri lanka Mahinda Rajapakse condemned the move by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) to employ Sinhala prisoners at Maangkea'ni cashew plantation owned by Sri Lanka Cashew Corporation(SLCC).
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Four members of Sri Lanka's Rights panel resign

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 October 2007, 13:01 GMT]
Four key members of the Sri Lanka's Human Rights advisory committee set up by Human Rights Minister, Mahinda Samarasinghe to address human rights issues in Sri Lanka, resigned saying that their advice is not being taken seriously, media reports from Colombo said.
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