Sri Lanka's 2000 budget details

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 February 2000, 18:51 GMT]
Sri Lankan Government has increased its defence expenditure in this year's budget by 11.5 percent, to 52.43 billion Rupees, while about 10 billion rupees have been cut from total expenditure.
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Norwegian Foreign Minister meets Anton Balasingham in London

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 February 2000, 10:44 GMT]
Norwegian Foreign Minister Mr. Knut Vollebaek met Mr. Anton Balasingham, the political advisor and theoretician of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in London yesterday and held talks on the possibility of Norway assisting peace talks between Sri Lanka government and the Tamil Tigers. The talks lasted for nearly two hours, the LTTE sources in London revealed.
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Norwegian Foreign Minister to visit Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 February 2000, 16:17 GMT]
Norwegian Foreign Minister Knut Vollebaek is set to visit Sri Lanka on February 16. He will arrive in the capital Colombo early on the 16th morning and leave late the same night, Ingvard Havnen, spokesman for the Norwegian Foreign Ministry told TamilNet.
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Opposition demands devolution draft

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 February 2000, 10:40 GMT]
The Leader of the Opposition and United National Party Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe has asked the President to table the draft constitutional reforms already made public three years ago, in Parliament immediately. "We are amazed that instead of finalizing and tabling the draft constitutional reforms made public in October 1997 in Parliament, your government is now engaged in an exercise preparing new draft" said Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe in a letter sent to the President today.
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Issadeen new UNP MP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 February 2000, 14:12 GMT]
The former Opposition Leader of the dissolved North East Provincial Council Mr.M.H.Segu Issadeen was sworn in as a new Member of Parliament in the National List of the United National Party today.
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President, opposition to meet later this month

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 February 2000, 22:00 GMT]
President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge is likely to meet Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the United National Party, during the third week of February, political sources said today.
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Norwegian Foreign Minister to visit Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 January 2000, 20:55 GMT]
The delayed visit of the Norwegian Foreign Minister to Sri Lanka is expected to take place during the weekend political sources said.
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UNP extends support despite "reservations"

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 January 2000, 12:24 GMT]
The United National Party Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe has informed the President Chandrika Kumaratunga that his party would support the government's constitutional proposals despite its reservations.
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Protect free media, urges Ranil

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 January 2000, 11:51 GMT]
The Leader of the United National Party, Ranil Wickremasinghe has made an appeal to all to rally round to safeguard the media freedom in Sri Lanka. He made this appeal when addressing a press conference on Wednesday.
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Expulsion of rebels valid - UNP

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 January 2000, 17:25 GMT]
The expulsion of Parliamentarians Sarath Amumgama Wijepala Mendis and Nanda Mathew from Sri Lanka'a main opposition United National Party (UNP) was legally valid stated UNP Chairman Karu Jayasuriya and General Secretary Gamini Athukorale in the objections filed by the party in the suit filed by the dissidents challenging their expulsion.
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Opposition slams President's "racist" speech

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 January 2000, 12:03 GMT]
Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunge's marathon television speech on January 3 was an attempt to kindle racist feelings in the country, said the leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe when briefing the press Thursday morning.
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Kumaratunga critisises media, opposition

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 January 2000, 22:42 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga Bandaranaike said that she will bring the war to an end this year in her first interview cum speech for 2000 in the state run TV tonight. She spoke for more than three hours, from 8.30 p.m to 11.45 p.m. The President harshly criticized sections of the independent media in Sri Lanka for working against her.
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UNP will support steps to end war

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 December 1999, 18:48 GMT]
Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) today said it would extend its support to the President Chandrika Kumaratunge if she took firm and reasonable steps to end the island's protracted conflict.
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Elections 'most fraudulent ever' - UNP

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 December 1999, 14:47 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Presidential elections held last Tuesday were the most fraudulent in the history of the country, declared Mr . Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) today at a press conference.
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'General' rigging in Jaffna claimed

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 December 1999, 10:55 GMT]
The large number of votes garnered by fringe and extremist Sinhala political parties based in the south in the presidential polls held in Jaffna, indicated general rigging had been conducted, officials in the northern town said Wednesday.
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Kumaratunga declared President

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 December 1999, 07:57 GMT]
Chandrika Banadaranaike Kumaratunga was declared President by Sri Lanka's acting Commissioner of Elections D.M.P.B Dassanayaka this afternoon. The Commissioner made the declaration on the basis of the votes counted so far.
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Election photographs

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 December 1999, 00:33 GMT]
Views of some of Sri Lanka's electorate casting their votes in the Presidential elections on December 21.
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Batticaloa voters seen favouring UNP

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 December 1999, 10:00 GMT]
As voting continues in the eastern Batticaloa district, TamilNet correspondents there say voters' sentiments favour Sri Lanka's opposition United National Party (UNP).
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UNP office smashed

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 December 1999, 12:22 GMT]
The UNP office at Eravur, 15 km. north of Batticaloa, was smashed by unidentified men around midnight yesterday said United National Party parliamentarian Alisagir Maulana.
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State media's biased role

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 December 1999, 06:04 GMT]
Several Presidential candidates complained to the Commissioner of Elections last week that the People's Alliance (PA) has been misusing the government controlled media during the Presidential elections.
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