Peace front to be formed in south

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 August 2002, 16:33 GMT]
The United Socialist Party (USP) Sunday announced that it has already taken steps to form a united front comprising political parties in the south, to canvass support for the current peace process. "We met LTTE Jaffna district political head Mr.Ilamparuthi Saturday and Sunday. We have assured the LTTE that our party will not be an obstacle to the liberation of Tamil people in this country," said Mr. Siritunge Jayasiri, General Secretary of the USP at a press briefing held Sunday afternoon around 3 p.m. in Jaffna Town Hall.
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Opposition protests against UNF economic policy

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 August 2002, 22:11 GMT]
A protest campaign was held Monday afternoon at Lipton Square, in down town Colombo against the increase of cost of living and privatisation. A procession and rally in commemoration of 1953 'hartal' (general shut down) by leftist political parties was organised by the main opposition People's Alliance (PA) and its trade unions.
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Legislators trade blows in parliament

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 July 2002, 16:36 GMT]
Sri Lanka's parliamentary sitting was suspended Wednesday morning for about fifteen minutes when a group of ruling and opposition members exchanged blows in the well of the House. Pandemonium erupted when the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse, made a statement calling for an apology from, and the resignation of, Commerce Minister Mr. Ravi Karunanayake on the grounds that he had accused the President of carrying a bomb in her handbag.
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LTTE political officials harassed

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 July 2002, 03:46 GMT]
A senior political cadre of the Liberation Tigers was assaulted by Sri Lankan troops last week whilst another was arrested and interrogated, Tamil press reports said. Protests were lodged with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), the reports said.
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CJ names three judges to hear Ratwatte case

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 July 2002, 18:22 GMT]
The Chief Justice Mr.Sarath N.Silva Monday named a three-member bench of the High Court to hear the Udathalawinne massacre case. In this case the former deputy defence minister General Anuruddha Ratwatte, his two sons Lohan and Chanukah and twelve other persons have been charged on 72 counts, including conspiracy to murder and murder.
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‘Bag-gate’ as minister spots spy camera

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 July 2002, 17:37 GMT]
Acrimony between Sri Lanka’s President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Parliamentary government took a bizarre twist Thursday when a cabinet minister accused her of using a spy camera concealed in her handbag to tape a cabinet meeting.
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President to take on Premier - report

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 July 2002, 10:43 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s President Chandrika Kumaratunga has decided to take the battle to the administration of Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe before it moves to present an impeachment motion against her in Parliament next month, the Daily Mirror reported Wednesday, quoting sources close to the President. The government, meanwhile, is this week expected to publish a report into alleged financial malpractices by the President, weekend press reports said.
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Karuna reiterates commitment to peace

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 July 2002, 12:35 GMT]
"There were insidious forces behind the recent troubles in the east. These forces should not be allowed to disrupt the peace process," said Col. V.Karuna, the commander of the Liberation Tigers for the districts of Batticaloa and Ampara, during a discussion with the head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and representatives of the Sri Lankan government in Kokkaddicholai, southwest of the eastern town Wednesday.
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'Just solution will end armed struggle'

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 June 2002, 14:10 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers are committed to the ceasefire agreement with the Sri Lankan government and will honour its terms and conditions, but must remain strong until the rights of the Tamil people have been secured, a senior LTTE commander said Monday.
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Tamil schools close in protest

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 May 2002, 12:44 GMT]
More than 90% of Tamil medium schools did not function Friday in the north and east when over twenty thousand teachers and principals staged a one-day token strike putting forward a list of demands to the Sri Lankan government. Students also stayed away from their schools.
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Navy fire sinks fishing boats

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 May 2002, 12:49 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Navy Wednesday fired on fishing boats of the coast of Vaakarai, destroying at least two vessels and killing several fishermen, residents in the coastal village said. The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission has been sent a strongly worded protest by the Liberation Tigers, sources in Kilinochchi said Thursday. Reporting the incident Wednesday the Sri Lanka military claimed the boats were LTTE craft and that one had blown itself up.
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NDF urges govt to lift LTTE ban

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 May 2002, 19:50 GMT]
The New Democratic Front Wednesday appealed to the United National Front government to lift the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and hand over the administration of the interim administration of the northeast province to a council headed by the LTTE.
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SLMC, LTTE sign agreement, plan more meetings

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 April 2002, 19:26 GMT]
(News Feature) Muslim leaders and the Liberation Tigers have signed an agreement to cooperate on affairs related to Sri Lanka's Muslim community, the head of the largest Muslim party told a press conference Saturday. Mr. Rauf Hakeem, leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and a delegation from his party flew to the LTTE-held town of Kilinochchi on Saturday morning for discussions with an LTTE delegation headed by the movement's leader, Mr. Vellupillai Pirapaharan.
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"LTTE-TNA decide to work united"-Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 April 2002, 18:47 GMT]
"The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) have accepted the need to work unitedly,"said Mr.R.Sampanthan, leader of the TNA parliamentary group Saturday evening in a statement on his return to Colombo from Vanni. Mr.Sampanthan told Tamilnet that the three and a half hour meeting with the LTTE leader was a historic event.
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Pirapaharan commits to peace, self determination

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 April 2002, 09:30 GMT]
(News Feature) It was reportedly the largest media event ever held in the island. The scale of the international and local media interest reflected the impact Mr. Vellupillai Pirapaharan has on Sri Lanka’s politics. His first press conference in over a decade - announced just a week in advance - drew almost six hundred reporters, photographers and cameramen from around the world to the war devastated town of Kilinochchi.
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President's security chief arrested

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 02 April 2002, 10:41 GMT]
President's security division chief Mr.Nihal Karunaratne was arrested Tuesday evening at Colombo's leading private hospital, Navaloka by a team of criminal investigation department officials (CID) amidst tight security. Mr.Karunaratne is to be produced in Kandy magistrate's court Wednesday, CID sources said.
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"No difference with UNF over peace talks" -SLMC leader

[TamilNet, Saturday, 30 March 2002, 19:10 GMT]
"It is the duty of Muslims to extend their support to the present peace process initiated by the United National Front government which is now gaining momentum," said Mr. Rauff Hakeem, the leader of the SLMC and the Minister of Port Development and Shipping, Eastern Development and Muslim religious affairs addressing a meeting at Maruthamunai in the Ampara district Saturday, denying a media report that his party has issued an ultimatum to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
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"Ministry discriminates Tamil medium teachers" - CTTU

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 March 2002, 19:13 GMT]
The Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union (CTTU) has informed the United National Front (UNF) government that it would launch trade union action if its fifteen demands are not met by March 25. The demands included that the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Education and Cultural Affairs should take immediate steps to stop all discriminatory acts of the Education Services Board (ESB) against the interests of Tamil medium teachers in the country. The Education Services Board comes under the purview of the Public Services Commission.
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SLA armoury on fire

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 March 2002, 06:07 GMT]
Fire broke out in the armoury of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) at Kankesanthurai in the northern Jaffna peninsula 4.45 a.m, Friday morning, army sources in Colombo said.
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SLA recruits, restructures for greater efficiency

[TamilNet, Thursday, 28 February 2002, 12:14 GMT]
(News feature) The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) is at the cross roads today, warily eyeing the prospect of a long peace and the schemes of the modern technocrats of the new government who might be inclined, as the negotiations progress, to prune its lavish budget and compact it to its 'natural size'. But the United National Front has sought to allay the SLA's apprehensions by promising to help it achieve greater efficiency.
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