PM urged to stop SLA camp in Jaffna municipal land

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 March 2003, 19:37 GMT]
An urgent appeal has been made to the Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, Tuesday on behalf of the people of Jaffna that the Sri Lanka Army should not be allowed to relocate its Jaffna brigade headquarters in the municipal council land close to the Jaffna fort, sources said.
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Norway's Deputy Foreign Minister holds talks with LTTE leaders

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 March 2003, 03:13 GMT]
Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Vidar Helgesen met with Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Political head, S.P. Thamilchelvan, and Anton Balasingham, LTTE theoretician and leader of LTTE peace delegation, Thursday afternoon at Killinochchi, sources said.


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‘Peace talks to go on despite challenges’ – PM

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 March 2003, 13:46 GMT]
"The ethnic problem in this country can be solved only by talks, and there is no other way; hence, whatever the challenges and road blocks the peace talks will face, we cannot abandon the talks," said Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe, addressing the general meeting of the United National Party (UNP) held in Kandy Wednesday evening.
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Norway's Deputy FM holds talks with LTTE leaders

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 March 2003, 12:10 GMT]
Talks between the Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Vidar Helgessen and the leaders of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam began Thursday afternoon at Killinochchi, sources said.


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Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister visits Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 March 2003, 09:06 GMT]
The Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister, Mr. Vidar Helgesen, is visiting Sri Lanka today to hold meetings with the Presidient, Prime Minister and the LTTE leadership. Mr. Vidar Helgesen will after his visit to Sri Lanka travel to Japan to take part in the next session of Peace Talks in Hakone 18-21 March.
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Teachers protest against army occupation in Northeast

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 March 2003, 11:50 GMT]
Tamil and Muslim Teachers in Northeast organized a symbolic strike by calling in sick demanding the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) vacate the schools, places of worship, private residences and public buildings which have been converted to SLA camps, sources in Batticaloa said.


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Commission to investigate attacks on Tamil Journalists

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 March 2003, 01:57 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has ordered to form a Commission consisting of retired judges to investigate into incidents in the NorthEast of attacks against Tamil journalists by the police and security forces, Government Information Department said in Colombo according to sources.
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Canadian Foreign Minister to visit Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 March 2003, 01:34 GMT]
Among several foreign envoys are to visit Sri Lanka next week to assess the progress of peace talks between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are Canadian Foreign Minister Mr. Bill Graham, Norwegian Foreign Minister Mr. Peterson, and his deputy Mr. Vidar Helgessen, said Minister and leader of GOSL negotiating team, Professor G.L.Peiris at a press conference held Thursday.


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Opposition parties plan protests against Ceasefire Agreement

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 March 2003, 16:57 GMT]
The Opposition Alliance, formed by the main opposition party in Sri Lanka’s parliament, the Sri Lanka Fredom Party (SLFP), in an alliance with the Jantha Vimukti Peramuna (JVP), the Mahajana Eaksath Peramuna (MEP), the National Unity Alliance (NUA), and the Sri Lanka Mahajana Paksaya (SLMP), said in a press conference in Colombo Thursday that it wants to “save the country” and has planned to conduct massive protests on March 10 against the UNF Government’s Ceasefire agreement with the LTTE and its economic policies of the past year.
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PM urged to solve Tamil medium teacher shortage in NE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 March 2003, 07:05 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Wednesday requested the United National Front government to grant permanent appointments to around one thousand volunteer teachers without any further delay as per the Cabinet approval already granted by the previous government “ This would only to some extent reduce the existing shortage of around 5500 Tamil medium teachers in the northeast province,” said TNA parliamentary group leader and the Trincomalee district parliament Mr.R.Sampanthan in a three page letter faxed to the Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe.
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MP demands removal of Periyaneelavanai checkpoint

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 March 2003, 17:00 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Member of Parliament (MP) from the Ampara district, Mr. A. Chandraneru, has requested in a letter to the Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe, that the police checkpoint operating from the Cultivation Services Office at Periyaneelavanai in the Ampara district should be removed, sources said.
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Trinco Methodist College holds prize giving

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 February 2003, 21:00 GMT]
One hundred and eighty three years old Trincomalee Methodist Girls College, popularly known as the Vembadi school, held its annual prize giving celebration Thursday with the Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Education and Cultural Affairs, Mr.S.Thillainadarajah, as the chief guest.
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Muslim parliamentarians meet Sri Lanka's PM

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 February 2003, 02:30 GMT]
A delegation of Muslim parliamentarians Thursday requested Sri Lanka's Prime Minister (PM), Ranil Wickremasinghe, for an opportunity for the Muslims to participate as an independent group in the peace talks now being held between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), sources said.
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PM to visit India tomorrow

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 February 2003, 16:08 GMT]
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe will make an official visit to India tomorrow, Sri Lankan foreign ministry officials said. Mr. Wickremasinghe will stay in India for three days and meet with Indian Prime Minister, B. Vajpayee, Foreign Affairs minister, Jaswant Sinha and Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani.
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JVP in massive protest march against ceasefire agreement

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 February 2003, 16:25 GMT]
Sri Lankan Police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse thousands of antigovernment demonstrators in Colombo Thursday afternoon. The protest was organised by the Sinhala nationalist party, Janata Vimukthi Peramuna, against the ceasefire agreement signed between with the Liberation Tigers and the Government of Sri Lanka.
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District-wide protests in Batticaloa over Manipay attack

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 February 2003, 15:33 GMT]
Massive processions and a campaign of wearing black waist-belts were held Wednesday in all Tamil regions of the Batticaloa district to protest the attack on February 12 in Manipay, where the Sri Lanka Army personnel and the paramilitary EPDP group assaulted unarmed women political cadres of the LTTE, civilians and journalists
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US to announce significant assistance in Japan meet - Armitage

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 February 2003, 02:59 GMT]
In a conference on "Srilanka: Prospects for Peace," held at the Center of Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington D.C Friday, Richard Armitage, Deputy U.S Secretary of State, in his Keynote address said that, "..it is my intention to return to the follow-on meeting [to Oslo] of donors" in June in Japan and "I will be able to announce significant further assistance to Sri Lanka for both humanitarian and economic aid," sources said.
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Jaffna journalists to conduct black band demonstration

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 February 2003, 12:01 GMT]
The Jaffna Journalists Association (JJA) Thursday informed the Media Minister by a letter that a non-violent black band demonstration will be held in front of the office of the Information Department in Jaffna on February 17 at about ten o'clock in the morning, sources said.


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Japanese special peace envoy meets Buddhist prelates

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 February 2003, 06:50 GMT]
The Japanese special peace envoy Mr. Yasusi Akashi arrived Colombo Wednesday early morning on a four-day visit. He immediately rushed to Kandy, capital of the central province and held vital discussions with the Mahanayake Theras of Malwatte Chapter Venerable Vipassi and Venerable Palipane Buddharakita Thera, sources said.
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France to send constitutional experts to Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 February 2003, 19:00 GMT]
French foreign minister Dr.Renaud Muselier Wednesday said the people of Jaffna expect a political solution to their conflict with internal self-determination. French minister said this at media briefing Wednesday before leaving Colombo after a three-day visit to Sri Lanka.
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