TNA, LTTE urge end to southern instability

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 December 2003, 15:37 GMT]
The political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, responding to a question at the press briefing he held Tuesday afternoon in Kilinochchi, said that if the current political crisis in the South were to continue indefinitely, it would seriously impact the peace process and the LTTE would carefully study its options, the Voice of Tigers radio said Tuesday.
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SLFP-JVP undecided on political alliance

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 December 2003, 03:53 GMT]
Another round of talks held between the leaders of the Sri Lanka Freedom party (SLFP), chief constituent of the main opposition People's Alliance, and the Sinhala nationalist cum Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which is the third largest party in the current parliament, Monday night concluded without fixing a date for the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to forge a political alliance, political sources said.
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Displaced Kinniya Tamils want permanent solution

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 December 2003, 15:12 GMT]
Hundreds of displaced Tamil families from Kadaloor and Upparu in Kinniya division in Trincomalee district, who have been staying as refugees at the Eechantivu Vipulananda Tamil Vidiyalayam, Sunday complained to the Trincomalee district parliamentarians, Messrs R.Sampanthan and K.Thurairetnasingham, that they should find a permanent solution to their problems as they had been displaced due to threat and violence thrice since 1990.
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Balasingham: LTTE seeks ‘new, creative’ relationship with India

[TamilNet, Sunday, 07 December 2003, 10:09 GMT]
Asserting the importance of the role of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in bringing about peace and stability to Sri Lanka, the movement’s theoretician, Mr Anton Balasingham, Saturday urged the Indian government to rethink and re-orientate its approach towards the organisation. Speaking at the Remembrance Day event in London, Mr Balasingham said the LTTE welcomed the international community’s efforts towards promoting peace in Sri Lanka, but would not accept the terms of a political solution being dictated to the Tamil people.
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Better to solve cohabitation crisis through talks - Wickremasinghe

[TamilNet, Sunday, 07 December 2003, 05:35 GMT]
Speaking at a meeting held in Puttalam Saturday, Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister, Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe, said that if the current cohabitation crisis is solved through talks, it would usher in a new political culture, but if the crisis is not resolved, the public would face several difficulties, sources said.
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SL President-PM talks fail to reach consensus

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 December 2003, 16:11 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, and Prime Minister, Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, held talks on the cohabitation crisis Friday, but did not reach any consensus. They agreed to meet again on December 10 and terminate their talks on or before December 15, ruling United National Front sources said.
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Japan reiterates its continued support to the peace process

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 December 2003, 13:20 GMT]
In a statement released on Thursday, Japan's minister for foreign affairs, Ms. Yoriko Kawaguchi, said her government welcomed the continued commitment of the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to the ceasefire, and expressed hope that the question of who on the part of the Government of Sri Lanka is responsible for the peace process would be resolved through talks between Sri Lanka's President and the Prime Minister.
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Colombo talks produce no breakthrough

[TamilNet, Monday, 01 December 2003, 11:50 GMT]
Meeting of a four-member committee appointed by Sri Lanka's prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunge to work out a cohabitation arrangement between them ended Monday without a breakthrough, media sources in Colombo said.


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LTTE leader is our leader - ACTC

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 November 2003, 12:14 GMT]
“The leader of the Liberation Tigers is our leader. The policy of the LTTE is our policy. Our party upholds the ideals of the Tigers. There is criticism that the Liberation Tigers are not permitting some armed Tamils groups to function in the northeast. I say that these groups should not engage in politics as long as they continue to work as mercenaries for the Sri Lankan armed forces”, said Mr. Appathurai Vinayagamoorthy, the leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), addressing a party meeting in Batticaloa Sunday.
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“Not all Sinhalese are racists "- Wickremasinghe

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 November 2003, 17:05 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister, Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, said Saturday evening that all the Sinhalese living in the south are not racists and only a handful of them are opposing the current peace efforts. His comments came when he was addressing a meeting in Mawanella as part of a campaign to create awareness among the masses in the south about the urgent need to recommence the stalled peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, media sources said.
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SL President presents proposals for cohabitation

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 November 2003, 17:38 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President, Ms Chandrika Kumaratunga, Friday submitted a set of proposals to the committee that has been attempting to formulate a programme for cohabitation government comprising the two main Sinhala political parties Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United National Party (UNP), sources said.
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Pirapaharan's Heroes' day address

[TamilNet, Thursday, 27 November 2003, 12:22 GMT]
Mr Vellupillai Pirapaharan, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in his annual statement commemorating the Heroes’ Day rejected accusations made by President Chandrika Kumaratunga that his organisation was strengthening its military power and preparing for war, and pointed to the power struggle between Sri Lanka's President and Prime Minister as historical repetitive pattern of "political drama [which] has been continuing for the last fifty years aggravating the plight of the Tamil people.”
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‘Would have shot down Patten’s copter’ – Sihala Urumaya

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 November 2003, 09:56 GMT]
"If we had an anti aircraft missile we wouldn’t have hesitated to shoot down the helicopter in which Mr. Chris Patten would be travelling to Kilinochchi to meet the LTTE leader," said Mr. Tilak Karunaratne, the leader of the ultra Sinhala nationalist Sihala Urumaya party, in comments published Wednesday in the Sinhala extremist daily Divaina. President Kumaratunga’s uncle publishes the paper, which enjoys wide readership among the Singhalese.
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Sinhala nationalists burn EU commissioner’s effigy

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 November 2003, 06:19 GMT]
Sinhala nationalist protestors burnt an effigy of European’s Union Commissioner for External Affairs, Mr. Chris Patten in the busy business hub of downtown Colombo Tuesday moring. Mr. Patten arrived in Sri Lanka’s capital Tuesday for meetings with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, President Kumaratunga and the leader of the Liberation Tigers, Mr. Veluppillai Pirapaharan.
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Governing with PM horrendous says Sri Lanka’s President

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 November 2003, 18:16 GMT]
President Chandrika Kumaratunga said Sri Lanka’s current crisis cannot be solved even if all parties are brought together because "the malaise runs deep in the country’s body politic," in a speech to businesspersons and academics telecast on state run TV Sunday night. Referring to cohabitation government with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, she said: "Governing like this is horrendous. The last two years had been the worst possible years of my life."
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UNF begins public awareness programme on constitutional crisis

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 November 2003, 18:11 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe Saturday said the current ceasefire agreement with the LTTE should be strengthened to avoid another war. "Negotiated political settlement could be found for the national conflict without war," said Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe addressing the first rally at Padavi-Siripura in Trincomalee district Saturday evening inaugurating an awareness programme island wide, to explain to the public, matters related to constitutional crisis between the Executive and the Legislature.


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European Parliament deplores SL President’s actions

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 November 2003, 16:07 GMT]
The European Parliament (EP), in a resolution co-sponsored by all political groups in the body and unanimously approved on Thursday, said that the decision made by Sri Lanka’s President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, at the beginning of November to sack three ministers and prorogue parliament while the Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremansinghe, was outside the country, represented “a threat to the peace process” and showed “the need, more than ever, for a real bipartisan commitment and approach to securing a political settlement in Sri Lanka between the major parties.”
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Cohabitation talks to end by December 15 - PA

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 November 2003, 11:27 GMT]
The main opposition Peoples Alliance said Friday that the President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge and Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremanayake have agreed to conclude the current high level talks now being held between their advisors to end the political uncertainty by 15th of December, media sources said.
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EU external relations commissioner to meet LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 November 2003, 17:01 GMT]
The Commissioner of External Relations of the European Commission, Mr. Chris Patten, will visit Sri Lanka next week and meet the Liberation Tigers, President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, according to a press release issued by the Delegation of the European Commission to Sri Lanka Thursday.
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SLA threatens Jaffna journalist

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 November 2003, 19:02 GMT]
The military intelligence unit of the Sri Lanka army at the Muhamalai entry point in Jaffna Wednesday stopped the journalist, Mr. Velupillai Thavachelvam, for more than an hour, threatening and accusing him of casting aspersions on the SLA in the northern peninsula deliberately. According to Mr. Thavachelvam, the soldiers who threatened him had said: “People like you had a free run under (Prime Minister) Ranil’s government. But now the President is in charge. So we can do anything to you”.
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