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Wednesday January 09, 2001
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Wednesday January 09, 2001
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Norway takes LTTE ceasefire proposals to Sri Lanka
The Liberation Tigers this week put forward through the Norwegian government their proposals for establishing a permanent, stable ceasefire with the Sri Lankan armed forces, sources close to the LTTE told Tamil Guardian. A Norwegian delegation which met the LTTE's chief negotiator and political advisor, Mr Anton Balasingham, on Friday is expected to shortly visit Sri Lanka to meet the new government, taking the proposals, the sources said. more India to host talks? As the Norwegian peace initiative gathered pace this week, suitable venues and locations for future negotiations are being explored, sources close to the LTTE told Tamil Guardian this week. The organisation is believed to have suggested a location in south India as being most suitable for both the Sri Lankan government and their negotiators. The Norwegian government is expected to convey the suggestion to the Sri Lankan and Indian governments, the sources said. more Kumaratunga faces SLFP dissent Twenty-three MPs of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the primary constituent of the opposition People's Alliance (PA) are prepared to support the ruling United National Front (UNF) to form a National Government, the state-owned Daily News reported Monday. Tamil Alliance slams delay in lifting embargo The Tamil National Alliance Jaffna parliamentarian Mr V Anandasangari has called on the government to allow in large amounts into Wanni some of the items banned or restricted by the government. "Some of these items are essential for civilians," the Tamil daily Uthyan quoted Mr Anandasangari. more STF in recruitment drive Despite ongoing efforts to revive the stalled Norwegian efforts to bring the Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lankan government back to the negotiating table, the new United National Front (UNF) administration has authorised its military and police to continue with recruitment drives aimed at strengthening the fighting forces, the Island newspaper reported Saturday. The elite police commando unit, the Special Task Force (STF), Saturday launched a major new recruitment drive to strengthen its forces deploy-ed in the north and east , the paper said quoting authoritative defence sources. The STF's campaign comes amid a major drive by the Sri Lanka Army's regular infantry divisions and Special Forces, as well as the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF). more “No solution within unitary constitution” The is no political solution to the Tamil national question within a unitary form of government, the United Nat-ional Party (UNP) and People's Alliance (PA) were told by Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian, Mr M Sivasithambaram, reported TamilNet. more PM, President woo Buddhist clergy Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told leaders of the powerful Buddhist clergy in Sri Lanka that he would continue to heed the advice of the Buddhist clergy and stressed that Sri Lanka was the centre of the Buddhist World and that it was the duty of the government to protect the sacred place, said news reports last week. In a separate communication Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga tried to appease criticism from the powerful Buddhist clergy over her failure to respond to the United National Front's (UNF)offer to join a national government of reconciliation. more President, PM see difficult path ahead for peace In their respective new year's messages, Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe warned of the difficulties that lay ahead in resolving the country’s economic woes and long running ethnic conflict and urged their audience to be resolute in seeking a more prosperous and peaceful island. more Sinhala nationalist cast doubts over Norwegian efforts The Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) continued to state its opposition to the Norwegian bid to broker peace in Sri Lanka, press reports said Saturday. In a press statement party leaders cast doubts over the impartiality of the Norwegian government and urged to United National Front (UNF) government to militarily weaked the Liberation Tigers prior to engaging in peace talks. more “State terror is cause of terrorism” Addressing the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SA-ARC) summit in Kathmandu, Sri Lanka's Presid-ent Chandrika Kumaratunga said violence expedited by the state against its people is the cause of terrorism. Speaking on global terrorism, President Kumaratunga said in a half-hour address that the best way to stop terrorism "is to stop generating it," reported the Sunday Times newspaper this week. more Kumaratunga olive branch amidst impeachment moves Sri Lanka's President and leader of the People's Alliance (PA) opposition party said Saturday she would be willing to work together with the new United National Front (UNF) government to form a national government of reconciliation. Her statement came amidst reports the UNF government had instigated proceedings to investigate allegations that the President was responsible for promoting crime, shielding criminals and corruption, with a view to forwarding an impeachment resolution, this week's Sunday Leader newspaper said. more ‘Lucky’ Kadirgamar Almost a month after the new government took office and the former ministers relinquished office together with their fleets of vehicles, security and other luxuries, one minister has managed to retain much of his past perks. Minister of Foreign Affairs Lakshman Kadirgamar still has in his possession 15 luxury vehicles, 125 special army commandos, 10 MSD personnel, 17 drivers and three personal staff (cook, gardener, helper), all paid for by the state of course, The Sunday Leader reported. more India, Sri Lanka to strengthen ties India and Sri Lanka agreed to revive a process for strengthening bilateral relations when Foreign Ministers of the two countries met on the sidelines of SAARC summit, the Press Trust of India reported on Thursday. more Colombo faces debt repayment problem Sri Lanka's new government painted a bleak economic picture on Sunday, saying the country would have problems servicing its debt in the first quarter of 2002, but added it would not need to restructure any loans, reported Reuters last week. more IMF reconsiders $235 million facility The International Monetary Fund said Friday it was prepared to work with the government to release a stalled credit facility, but urged it to speed up its reform programme. "They are faced with a number of difficulties, but I think they have made a number of good moves," Nadeem Ul Haque, the fund's senior resident representative told Reuters in an interview. more UNF replaces army, diplomatic posts A month after victory at the polls, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's United National Front (UNF) government are taking steps to place diplomats and military staff loyal to the party in key positions, press reports said last week. more UNP MP Gamini Atukorale dies Assistant Leader of the United National Party (UNP) and Transport, Highways and Civil Aviation Minister Gamini Atukorale, 50, died of a heart attack last Tuesday.He took to politics at the age of 22 and entered Parliament at 26 on the UNP ticket, in 1977, when J. R. Jayewardene came to power. more Ban remains obstacle to talks, Tigers remind Norway The lifting of the Sri Lankan government's economic blockade on Tamil areas and the ending of travel and fishing restrictions on people living in these areas, as well as the de-proscription of the Liberation Tigers were all essential to advance the Norwegian assisted peace initiative, the LTTE's chief negotiator and political advisor, Mr Anton Balasingham, told a Norwegian delegation which met with him in London last Friday. In comments he made to the Jaffna Tamil daily Uthayan, Mr Balasingham described his three-hour meeting with a Norwegian delegation at his London residence. more Sri Lanka to ease embargo Sri Lanka's new government announced an easing of the economic embargo on goods into the north and east last Wednesday, but said it was still maintaining restrictions on many goods, including supplies of cement and fuel. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced last Wednesday that it would allow the transport of restricted amounts of diesel, petrol, cement and steel bars to the areas held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the North-East province effective from January 15. more SLN re-imposes fishing restriction The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) last Wednesday re-imposed the restriction on fishing off the Vadamaradchi coast of Jaffna that it had partially eased following the United National Front government's decision to make good will gestures towards creating a conducive atmosphere for starting the peace process. Fishermen in Katkovalam and Sakkottai alleged that the SLN had demanded part of their daily catch in return for easing the limit on the hours allowed for fishing off this coast. All fishing in the seas off the Vadamaradchi coast from Thikkam to Thondamanar is still banned. more TELO MP writes to PM on Jaffna suffering Jaffna is in the throes of scarcity of essential food items, fuel is being sold at a very high rate and the price of bread is beyond the means of most people, Jaffna District MP, M. K. Sivajilingam states in a letter to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. He adds that fishing has been prohibited from Thondamannar to Thikkan and an immediate lifting of the ban was necessary "in the interests of the long suffering people in the district". more Children deprived of education by conflict - official Most of the children under the age of ten living in welfare centres, slum areas and remote villages in the North-East province, have been deprived of their pre-school and primary education due to the ongoing war, said Mr.Sokkalingam Amirthalingam. The Provincial Secretary to the Ministry of Rehabilitation, Reconstruction, Social Welfare and Women Affairs was addressing a three-day workshop on the Early Childhood Development Project.
more Essential Services Commissioner stripped of duties Rehabilitation Reconstruction and Resettlement Minister Dr. Jayalath Jayawardene accused the Commissioner General of Essential Services of not co-operating in matters relating to the peace process and said his ministry was taking over the important functions of the Commissioner as of the beginning of the year. more Help requested for thousands affected by severe floods The Mullaithivu Government Agent (GA) and the TULF Vadamarachi organiser have called for relief for the tens of thousands affected by flooding in the north and east of Sri Lanka. The calls come despite reports last week that the Re-settlement and Rehabilitation Minister Dr Jayalath Jewadena had directed the Northern Rehabilitation Authority to release money for the payment of compensation to many families. more Talks on de-mining in Jaffna to resume The United Nations will be holding talks with the government to recommence the de-mining programme in Jaffna suspended in April last year because of heavy fighting reported the Daily Mirror. The revival of the project has been under consideration since September last year. The UN agencies are looking at the possibility of reviving the project after holding talks with the government, UN spokesman Mohan Samaranayaka told the Daily Mirror. more EPDP MP surrenders to Jaffna court, organiser sought Mr. Nadarajah Mathanarajah of the paramilitary Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) who was elected as a Member of Parliament for Jaffna at the general elections on 5 December last year surrendered to the Jaffna court Monday, reported TamilNet. The Jaffna judge ordered the Police to remand Mr. Mathanarajah until 16 January. more
Student leader Thivyan taken to hospital with dislodged shoulder K Thivyan, the detained student leader from Jaffna University, held at Jaffna prison was admitted to the hospital with the dislodged left shoulder reported the Uthayan. He was allegedly attacked in an incident at the prison while waiting in a queue with several other detainees, all of whom were hand cuffed, to go to the hospital for treatment. A quarrel broke out between the detainees and the officers and which ended up with the violent attack on Thivyan. more Dengue fever turns deadly Health officials in Jaffna and Trincomalee have appealed for the public to maintain high levels of hygiene to counter the alarming spread on Dengue fever. Outpatient departments in most government and private hospitals are currently treating a large number of case of the fever that is spread by mosquitoes and unhygienic drinking water, reported Uthayan last Saturday. The risk of this spreading will be there until February, according to the officials. more Tamil voters contest December election results Seven Tamil voters, from areas in Batticaloa and the Vanni held by the LTTE, have filed fundamental rights applications in the Sri Lankan Supreme Court seeking declarations that the December 5 polls in their districts are invalid as they were denied an opportunity to vote by the Sri Lankan military forces. more NEP officials to tour LTTE regions North-East provincial ministry secretaries and heads of departments have decided to tour the Mullaithivu and Kilinochchi districts in the Liberation Tigers held Vanni region to obtain first hand information about the sufferings of the people. At the last meeting of the Provincial Planning Council of the Northeast Province (NEP), its chief secretary Mr.G.Kirushnamoorthy tabled a resolution to this effect. more Tensions between India and Pakistan ease at SAARC The Indian prime minister has cautiously welcomed Pakistan's offer of a "hand of friendship" at a regional summit in Nepal, but relations between the two powers remain fraught, reported the BBC on Saturday. more FARC and government reach impasse on talks Colombia's government and its largest guerrilla group broke off peace talks without reaching an agreement on any agenda item, government peace commissioner Camilo Gomez said. more America cuts funds to Iraqi opposition The United States has suspended funding for the leading Iraqi opposition group, citing poor bookkeeping, the State Department said Saturday. Some consider the group a key to any effort to topple Saddam Hussein, but it has been criticized as ineffective, unorganised and without a capable fighting force, reported Associated Press. more Blair sees wider role for Britain Prime Minister Tony Blair believes it is time for Britain to forget the nostalgic days of empire and play a pivotal new role on the world stage, reported Reuters on Saturday. "We do not have an empire, we are not a superpower, but we do have a role, and in playing it properly we benefit Britain and the wider world," he said in the high-tech Indian city of Bangalore. "That role is to be a pivotal player," he said. more Attacks on journalists increased in 2001 Two leading media watchdogs last week reported a sharp rise in attack on journalists in 2001. The number of journalists jailed or attacked for their work rose dramatically last year, the Paris-based Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF - Reporters Without Borders) said in its annual assessment of press freedom. The number killed was almost the same as in 2000 when the death toll was 32, it said. But arrests soared by almost 50 percent to 489 while threats and physical attacks on reporters jumped around 40 percent to 716, reported Reuters. more Chechnya conflict escalates in New Year The New Year has seen a sharp escalation of fighting in Chechnya as Russian forces killed eight separatists in southern Chechnya overnight and rebels stepped up their own operations, reported AFP on Saturday. more |
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