UNP wants army de-politicized

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 May 2000, 20:43 GMT]
The United National Party today decided to oppose the monthly extension of the Emergency in Parliament on May 10. Generally the UNP is not present in Parliament when the extension of the Emergency comes up for voting. The party also claimed that the need of hour is to de-politicize the security forces.
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UNP blames government for debacle

[TamilNet, Saturday, 06 May 2000, 12:32 GMT]
The Sri Lankan government, and not the Sri Lanka Army, has to take responsibility for the fall of the Elephant Pass base to the Liberation Tigers, Ranil Wickremesinghe, leader of Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) said in an interview to The Week magazine.
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UNP protest blocked

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 May 2000, 18:16 GMT]
A group of about thirty United National Party MPs were blocked by the Sri Lankan Police from staging a protest this morning at Independent Square near down town Colombo against the promulgation of the draconian regulations under the Public Security Ordinance.
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President discusses crisis with opposition

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 02 May 2000, 20:31 GMT]
The Sri Lankan President and the leader of the opposition held a two hour meeting to discuss crisis over the military debacles in the northern part of the island today. The United National Party delegation had asked the President to remove the stringent censorship on all war related news and to convene the Parliament by May 5 according to a press communique issued by the Presidential secretariat this afternoon.
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Chandrika, Ranil to discuss crisis

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 April 2000, 14:05 GMT]
The Sri Lankan President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga invited the leader of the opposition Mr.Ranil Wickremesinghe today for talks on the military crisis in the north. The talks are scheduled for May 3 at the President's official residence in Colombo.
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Threat to Jaffna and Palaly real - Ranil

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 April 2000, 13:37 GMT]
Sri Lanka's opposition leader Mr.Ranil Wickremesinghe said today that the fall of the Elephant Pass -Iyakkachchi military base complex poses a real threat to Jaffna and Palaly, the peninsula's main military garrison.
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Tripartite agreement necessary - Indian Foreign Minister

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 April 2000, 14:40 GMT]
The devolution of power in Sri Lanka should be done with the consensus of a tripartite agreement between the government, the United National Party and the Liberation Tigers and this is necessary for devolution of powers in Sri Lanka, said India's Foreign Minister Mr. Jaswant Singh.
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Ranil to brief Indian PM

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 April 2000, 13:57 GMT]
The leader of Sri Lanka's main opposition party, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, will hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in New Delhi this week, a spokesman for the United National Party (UNP) said today. Mr. Wickermesinghe will brief the Indian PM on the current dialogue between his party and the Sri Lankan government about evolving a consensus on constitutional change aimed at solving the island's ethnic conflict. He will be arriving in Delhi tommorrow.
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PA-UNP agreement draws criticism

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 March 2000, 11:37 GMT]
The Sri Lankan government and the main opposition party discussed and agreed upon some modifications to the procedures for appointing governors to regions as spelt out in the draft constitutional proposals of the ruling People's Alliance (PA) of 1997 today during their third round of talks on working out a consensus to solve the ethnic conflict. Reacting to the PA-UNP communique this afternoon, Tamil parties in Colombo said that "this is an agreement to further water down the basis for devolving power to the proposed Regional bodies envisaged in the 97' proposals".
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UNP protest petroleum hike

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 March 2000, 18:22 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) organised a protest march and a rally in Colombo today, protesting against price hikes in petroleum products and increased coast of living.
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UNP, PA press release

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 March 2000, 12:24 GMT]
A joint communique was issued after the second round of talks held on Thursday between the delegations from the People's Alliance (PA) and the United National Party (UNP). President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge chaired the discussion.
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'Keep us informed on the peace talks' - UNP

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 March 2000, 00:22 GMT]
"We have also been informed by the Government of Norway that the Government of Sri Lanka asked for discussions with the LTTE and we are also being informed of certain other developments and I thought I should be briefed on that matter before we start talks," said Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the Sri Lankan opposition, United National Party, according to the communique» on today's meeting between the Government and UNP, issued jointly by both parties this evening.
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UNP, PA meeting-"talks on Talks"

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 March 2000, 09:10 GMT]
"Both side survived and we will meet again this month" said Sri Lanka's Opposition Leader Mr.Ranil Wickremesinghe coming from a two hour meeting with the President Chandrika Kumaratunga and seven of her senior cabinet ministers this afternoon around 1.30 a.m. "The first meeting went off well" he added.
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UNP gearing up to meet President

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 March 2000, 18:08 GMT]
The Executive Committee and the Parliamentary Group of the United National Party (UNP) will meet on March 6 to decide on final preparations for discussions with President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge on March 9.
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UNP raises another objection

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 March 2000, 15:32 GMT]
The Parliamentary group of the United National Party (UNP) resolved today to oppose the PA government's proposals for constitutional change on grounds of procedure.
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Opposition leader declines President's invitation

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 February 2000, 14:56 GMT]
Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe, Leader of the United National Party has declined to participate at tomorrow's discussions with President Chandrika Kumaratunge, on the proposed constitutional reforms. He has informed President Chandrika today by a letter that the best possible course of action open to her is to immediately present in Parliament the proposals tabled in October 1997.
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President, Opposition meet next week

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 February 2000, 16:47 GMT]
President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge has invited the leader of the Opposition, Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe for discussions on constitutional reforms scheduled to be presented to the Parliament by her government.
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Press release on Norwegian visit

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 February 2000, 23:54 GMT]
The foreign ministries of both Sri Lanka and Norway released statements about Norwegian Foreign Minister Knut Vollebaek's visit to Sri Lanka yesterday. Mr Vollebaek met Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lankan opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinge and President Chandrika Kumaratunga during his one day visit.
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Vollebaek meets Wickremasinghe

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 February 2000, 16:11 GMT]
The Sri Lankan opposition leader Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe told the visiting Norwegian Foreign Minster Mr. Knut Vollebaek that a solution to the ethnic conflict in the island has to be found through a reasonable political system, UNP sources said.
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Norwegian Foreign Minister arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 February 2000, 07:28 GMT]
The Norwegian Foreign Minister Knut Vollebaek who arrived in Colombo today had a two-hour long discussion with his Sri Lankan counterpart, Lakshman Kadirgamar this morning.
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