Pakistan President Zardari arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 November 2010, 14:47 GMT]
Pakistan President, Asif Ali Zardari, arrived Saturday evening in Colombo on a three day official visit, and was received by Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), diplomatic sources in Colombo said. Ali Zardari will interact with Members of the Sri Lanka-Pakistan Parliamentary Friendship Association and address a Business Forum comprising businessmen and corporate leaders during his state visit, according to the same sources.
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Ranil Wickremasinghe leaves to India

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 November 2010, 08:31 GMT]
Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) Wednesday morning on a three-day visit to India. He arrived in Chennai, capital of Tamilnadu state during his first leg of the tour. He is expected to meet Tamilnadu political leaders during his stay in Chennai.
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Political parties in UK condemn jailing Fonseka - Wickremasinghe

[TamilNet, Monday, 01 November 2010, 06:30 GMT]
The Only country in the world that has unseated a person who holds the post of Member of Parliament due to the ruling of a Military Tribunal is Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party(UNP), said addressing a meeting at Bopitiya in Katugampola Saturday evening. He added that during his recent visit to Europe he was told by members of ruling and opposition parties that a Member of Parliament cannot be removed from his seat by a decision of a Court Martial and a retired person from the military cannot also be punished under the military regulations.
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UNP leader Wickremasinghe, SL Minister Peiris visit Britain this week

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 October 2010, 04:09 GMT]
Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP), is scheduled to leave for tour in Europe Sunday evening. During his stay in London he is expected to meet British Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Affairs Minister William Hague. He is also expected to meet the leaders of the main opposition Labour Party, UNP sources said. He is also to visit Norway and to hold talks with Norwegian Minister of International Development Eric Solheim.
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Fonseka needs SL Speaker’s permission to attend parliament

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 October 2010, 16:44 GMT]
“Sarath Fonseka can be allowed to attend Parliament if the Speaker or Parliamentary Affairs Secretary gives us orders in writing,” the Commissioner General of Prisons Major General (retired) V. R. de Silva said Monday. Sarath Fonseka, former commander of the Sri Lanka Army currently held in Welikada prison serving 30 month rigorous imprisonment will not be allowed to attend Sri Lanka parliament which is scheduled to meet Thursday until a written directive from the Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa is received by prison authorities, according to V. R. de Silva.
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Wickremesinghe demands immediate release of Fonseka

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 October 2010, 02:56 GMT]
Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has demanded Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa to immediately pardon and release former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka, who led the battle against the Liberation Tigers and ended the war May last year, the Sinhala daily Lankadeepa said Tuesday.
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Swaminathan, Aswer nominated to PAC

[TamilNet, Friday, 01 October 2010, 08:54 GMT]
Two national list parliamentarians, a Muslim and a Tamil, have been nominated respectively by Sri Lanka Prime Minister and the opposition leader to the five-member Parliamentary Advisory Council (PAC) that is to be established under the 18th amendment to the constitution. The Prime Minister D. M. Jayaretna nominated A. H. M. Aswer from the national list of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the opposition nominated D. M. Swaminathan from the national list of the main opposition United National Party (UNP).
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Wickremesinghe tells possible rebels to leave party

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 September 2010, 11:40 GMT]
Sri Lanka's United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has declared that all those parliamentarians who have announced that they will sit independently in parliament have to resign from the party and then take such a decision, the state-run Dinamina newspaper said. According to the article, Wickremesinghe has maintained that no one in the party can take a decision to sit independently in parliament while being part of the UNP and therefore they have to resign from the party and then sit independently in parliament.
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Speaker to recommend 2 MPs to SL Parliamentary Council

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 September 2010, 03:13 GMT]
Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa is to recommend two names from among Tamil and Muslim parliamentarians for approval to Sri Lanka’s President as nominees to the Parliamentary Council as Prime Minister D. M. Jayaretna and the Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe failed to nominate as required by the 18th amendment within the stipulated seven day period, Acting Secretary General of Sri Lanka Parliament Neil Iddawela told media Wednesday.
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Speaker to appoint nominee to Parliamentary Council if UNP fails

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 September 2010, 05:00 GMT]
The Speaker of Sri Lanka Parliament will be entrusted with the powers to appoint the relevant representative to the parliamentary council if the Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe fails to appoint a member within next week. Ranil Wickremasinghe Thursday nominated Tamil national Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian M. A Sumanthiran as his nominee to the Parliamentary Council but the TNA MP rejected the nomination. Since then Ranil Wickremasinghe has not nominated a new person, SL parliament sources said.
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TNA rejects Wickremesinghe’s offer

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 September 2010, 14:44 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Thursday refused to give consent to the opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to appoint TNA parliamentarian, M. N. Sumanthiran as his nominee to the Parliamentary Council constituted under the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. TNA media spokesman and Jaffna district parliamentarian said Ranil Wickremesinghe wanted the party’s consent to appoint Sumanthiran. TNA has informed Ranil Wickremasinghe that it has opposed the 18th amendment and it will boycott the Parliamentary Council.
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UNP crisis deepens, dissidents likely to sit in parliament as independent group

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 September 2010, 17:42 GMT]
Twenty five parliamentarians of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) Tuesday issued ultimatum to their leader Ranil Wickremasinghe till September 22 to address the leadership crisis soon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, said to be the leader of the dissident 25 MPs has told electronic and print media that they would inform the Speaker of parliament of their intention to consider them as an independent group when parliament meets on September 22.
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UNP crisis reaches climax, Wickremasighe to make statement

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 September 2010, 14:37 GMT]
Ranil Wickremasinghe, the leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) is expected to make a statement as his leadership is under challenge from his loyalists in the party even after defection. Political circles speculate he may relinquish his leadership in the party to give way for another leader amid reports carried in electronic and print media quoting his main rival Sajith Premadasa that he is ready to take over the leadership of the party from Wickremasinghe.
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Samaraweera entangled in poster campaign against Rajapaksa - Dinamina

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 September 2010, 11:09 GMT]
Sri Lankan police have uncovered a 'clandestine' move to print several 'mudslinging' posters targeting Sri Lanka' President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Dinamina newspaper said in its lead story. Quoting police investigators, the article claimed that the group behind this attempt was opposition parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera. The order to print the posters has allegedly being given to a printing press with links to the Janatha Simukthi Peramuna.
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UNP to boycott debate on 18th amendment Wednesday

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 September 2010, 06:36 GMT]
Ranil Wickremasinghe, the leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) Tuesday announced in Sri Lanka parliament that his party would not attend the debate on the 18th amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka when it is taken up for debate on Wednesday. UNP parliamentarians led by Ranil Wickremasinghe thereafter walked out.
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No-confidence motion against SL Minister Peiris

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 September 2010, 05:02 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) Friday handed over a No-confidence motion to Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa against Sri Lanka External Affairs Minister G. L. Peiris charging him for the failure in handling international affairs.
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Ranil Wickremasinghe in India on official visit

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 September 2010, 09:02 GMT]
The leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) Ranil Wickremasinghe Thursday evening left for India on an official visit. He flew first to Chennai to meet Tamilnadu politicians soon after meeting the visiting Indian Foreign Secretary Ms Nirupama Rao in Colombo, sources in Colombo said.
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UNP to oppose constitutional amendment

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 September 2010, 11:25 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) Wednesday decided to vote against the proposed constitutional reforms in parliament. After the party’s working committee held Wednesday morning its leader Ranil Wickremasinghe told a media briefing that his party has decided to oppose the removal of two year term executive presidency system and the modification of the Constitutional Council system into a five-member parliamentary advisory council.
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Mahinda Rajapaksa meets UNP delegation led by Wickremasinghe

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 August 2010, 06:36 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa Monday met a three-member delegation of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) led by its leader Ranil Wickremasinghe at Temple Trees. The UNP delegation comprised of two UNP parliamentarians Tissa Attanayake, general secretary, Joseph Michael Perera and the Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress party, Rauf Hakim, sources in Colombo said.
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Opposition to introduce bill to protect journalists rights

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 August 2010, 04:59 GMT]
Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has declared that legislation will be brought to parliament shortly which will ensure that the rights of all journalists in Sri Lanka are safeguarded. According to Dinamina, a state run newspaper, Wickremesinghe will put forward the bill as a private member’s motion.
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