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UNP lambasts government
Frederica Jansz in Colombo,
2.10 p.m. SLT Thursday December 28.
Assistant Leader to the United National Party, Gamini Atukorale in a
statement released today said that the people of this country are forced
to
face severe hardships due to a corrupt and irresponsible government.
Atukorale was referring to the recent price hike in fuel in the country
and
said the government due to its poor economic policies has been forced to
increase the price of fuel four times this year.
He added that apart from a natural disaster which hit the island nation
forcing thousands out of their homes this week due to a cyclone, the
government is totally responsible for the plight of millions of Sri
Lankans
who can barely afford three meals a day.
Published: Tue Jan 2 23:46:21 EST 2001
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Tamils in America protest against LTTE ban
Frederica Jansz in Colombo,
12.10 p.m. SLT Thursday December 28.
A number of Sri Lankan Tamils protesting against the US ban on the LTTE
are
pushing for the Americans to lift the ban. Outlawed in 1997, the US
deemed
the LTTE as a terrorist organization. Sri Lankan Tamils claim this ban
is
against the US constitution and violates the organizations fundamental
rights. Three years ago, The US outlawed 32 organizations, including
the
LTTE.
Published: Tue Jan 2 23:46:21 EST 2001
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Lawyer shot dead in Avissawella courtyard
Saroj Pathirana in London,
Tuesday 02 January 1735 GMT.
A lawyer was shot dead in Avissawella Magistrate court today during an
inquest into a grenade attack that left a Tamil suspect killed at a police
station. The murdered lawyer, Don Nandasena Padmaperuma was representing the
dead person. Pandian Selvaraj, a Tamil suspect arrested on suspicion of five
murders, was killed yesterday in a grenade attack on Avissawella police
station. Human Rights Activists say that this is the second such attack on
unarmed suspects under state custody, after infamous Bindunuwewa massacre,
during PA’s second term in power.
Chairman of the Organization for Parents and Family Members of Disappeared
Chandra Peiris told BBC’s Sandeshaya that a person who had come to the
court to give evidence on the grenade attack was seriously injured and had
been taken to Colombo for treatment. He said a gang of armed men had arrived
at the Avissawella magistrate court in two three-wheelers, opened fire and
fled away.
Police say that they have launched an investigation into the killing of the
lawyer and five police officers have been interdicted in connection with
the grenade attack.
Published: Tue Jan 2 12:34:59 EST 2001
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Survivor to identify soldiers accused of killing Tamil civilians
ecountries,
January 1.
Six Sri Lankan soldiers accused of murdering
eight Tamil civilians and burying their bodies in a mass grave in Jaffna will
appear in an identification parade, a judge ordered Monday. District court Judge A. Premshankar asked the lone survivor of the Dec. 19
killing that he should identify the men who killed the victims after detaining
them for questioning. Ponnuthurai Maheswaran survived as he managed to flee from military
custody. He agreed to come to court Wednesday to identify the killers.
More...
Published: Tue Jan 2 09:11:08 EST 2001
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Army Commander congratulates field commanders for successful operations
Waruna Karunatilake in Colombo,
1616SLT 02.01.01.
Sri Lankan Army Commander General Lionel Balagalla today congratulated the
field commanders for successfully completing operations in the Jaffna
Peninsula. The Commander said the army now has complete control of the
Jaffna Peninsula, north of Kilali and Nagar Kovil. The Army captured the
last points of the A-9 highway on December 31st at the end of phase six of
an operation launched four months ago.
Published: Tue Jan 2 05:39:50 EST 2001
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Lankan troops capture rebels' food stocks
Times of India,
3 January 2001 .
Tamil guerrillas fled as
government troops captured a huge rebel
stockpile of rice, pulses and onions in
northern Jaffna Peninsula, a top
government spokesman said Tuesday.The soldiers also recovered 163
anti-personnel land mines, three anti-tank
mines and 10 explosive devices from the
guerrillas' hide-out close to a storehouse
on Monday, Ariya Rubasinghe, the
government spokesman said.
More...
Published: Tue Jan 2 20:01:28 EST 2001
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Lanka govt ready to consider LTTE offer
India Abroad,
Jan 3, 2001 5:20 Hrs (IST) .
THE Sri Lankan Government is prepared to consider the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam’s (LTTE) ceasefire offer and lessening of military action only if the Tamil Tigers agree to genuine negotiations to evolve a solution to the ethnic crisis, Deputy Defense Minister Anurudhha Ratwatte said. “The Government did not respond positively to the LTTE’s 'deceitful' ceasefire, considering their record during the past 17 years,” Gen Ratwatte told the official Daily News on January 1. He said the only way of bringing the LTTE to the negotiating table to search for a fair solution to the ethnic problem was to “weaken them militarily.” “The LTTE tried to strengthen their weak military power by declaring a ‘deceitful ceasefire’ to de-escalate the security force's successful military offensive against them in the Jaffna peninsula. But the government was not going to respond to it positively,” he asserted.
More...
Published: Tue Jan 2 23:42:30 EST 2001
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4000 Child Abuse Complaints Annually - Chairman, N.C.P.A.
CDN,
03 Jan 2001.
An average of 4000 complaints of child abuse are reported annually to the Child Protection Authority (NCPA), Chairman,
NCPA, Prof.Harendra De Silva told the `Daily News' yesterday. He said that in a number of instances there had been collusion between the offenders and the authorities to cover up gravecrime such as of rape, torture and other forms of child cruelty.
More...
Published: Tue Jan 2 19:00:27 EST 2001
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Rear Admiral Daya Sadagiri takes over as Navy Commander
Waruna Karunatilake in Colombo,
1630 SLT 02.01.01.
Rear Admiral Daya Sadagiri took over as the 14th Commander of the Sri Lanka
Navy today. Admiral Sadagiri has served in Navy for over 30 years, the
longest serving officer to command the force.
end
Published: Tue Jan 2 05:39:51 EST 2001
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South Africa on top after deadly Pollock demolishes Sri Lanka
Yahoo India,
january 2.
CAPE TOWN, Jan 2 (AFP) - A devastating six-wicket salvo from South African skipper Shaun Pollock left his team in a commanding position against Sri Lanka on the first day of the second Test at Newlands Tuesday. South Africa surged into a first innings lead before the close of play, scoring 130 for two, after Pollock took six for 30 as Sri Lanka crashed to 95 all out.
More...
Published: Tue Jan 2 13:22:21 EST 2001
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General Ratwatta vows to continue the war against Tamil rebels
Waruna Karunatilake in Colombo,
1625 SLT 02.01.01.
The Deputy Minister of defence General Anurudha Ratwatta said today that
the LTTE was forced into a "defeatful" unilateral cease fire to try to gain
breathing space due to recent military setbacks. In a New year message the
Minister said the Armed Forces Would continue the war to defeat
terrorism.He said the LTTE would only agree to peace talks if military
pressure is continued.
Published: Tue Jan 2 05:39:51 EST 2001
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Sri Lanka army takes offensive to cyberspace
123India.com,
January 1.
COLOMBO, Jan 1 (AFP) - Sri Lanka's army Monday launched its own website in a move that will take its war against separatist Tamil Tiger guerrillas into cyberspace. Army chief Lionel Balagalle inaugurated the website (www.slarmy.org) in New Year's day, defence ministry spokesman Sanath Karunaratne said.
More...
Published: Mon Jan 1 14:36:40 EST 2001
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Marxist women protest in Colombo
TN,
02 Jan. 2001.
A mass protest against the rising cost of living in Sri Lanka was led Tuesday in downtown Colombo by the women's wing of the radical Marxist Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP -
People's Liberation Front). Hundreds of women carrying placards and shouting slogans gathered in front of the city's main railway station in Fort, Colombo's bustling business hub from 4 p.m. this afternoon for the protest. The cost of living in the island shot up when the cash strapped Sri Lankan government devalued the rupee and hiked up fuel prices last month in addition to taxes and heavy borrowing to finance a massive war budget. A woman MP, a Muslim who is a senior cadre of the JVP, led the protest. She said that the JVP's call to workers and women who were most affected
by the rising cost of living to rally round the party to oppose the capitalist exploitation had had a very good response and that her party would continue to the protests in all parts of the country.
More...
Published: Tue Jan 2 17:58:09 EST 2001
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Sri Lankan army may advance towards Elephant Pass
The Hindu (International),
Wednesday, January 03, 2001.
COLOMBO, JAN. 2.After regaining most parts of Jaffna it lost to the LTTE in May last, the Sri Lankan Army may now be setting its sights on the strategic neck of the peninsula, control over which will place it in command of the entire region. The Army now controls all areas north of the neck, on a curved line joining Kilali, Eluthumadduval and Nagarkovil. Immediately south lies Pallai, and beyond that the strategic Elephant Pass base; both are controlled by the LTTE.Military analysts believe that the Army's next move will be to advance towards Pallai, and perhaps the LTTE thinks of that too. ``That could explain why the LTTE did not offer any resistance to the military in the last few operations. They may be concentrating on fortifying Pallai,'' said Mr. Iqbal Athas, Sri Lanka-based writer for Jane's Defense Weekly.
More...
Published: Tue Jan 2 17:31:01 EST 2001
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Victories over LTTE a 'gift to the nation': Lanka Army chief
India Abroad,
Jan 01, 2001 13:20 Hrs (IST) .
SRI Lanka's army Commander Lionel Balagalle has patted his troops on the back, hailing their recent victories against Tamil Tiger rebels as a New Year "gift" to the nation. In a message to field commanders, Balagalle congratulated them "for a series of successes that have gained complete control of the Jaffna peninsula, north of the line joining Kilaly, Eluhumadduval and Nagarkovil." "This is the gift to the nation from the security forces on the eve of the year 2001," said the army chief.
More...
Published: Mon Jan 1 14:50:05 EST 2001
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LAcNet.
LAcNet,
January 1.
The LAcNet server is back on line. Please visit
us at the new site for your favourite features
brought about by our dedicated volunteers. As
always please help us improve our services by
your voluntary contributions of funding, donations
and labor.
New Server is Here...
Published: Mon Jan 1 20:18:04 EST 2001
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Sri Lankan president vows to eliminate terrorism in New Year
123India.com,
January 1.
COLOMBO, Jan 1 (AFP) - Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga marked the New Year with an appeal for peace in her embattled nation, vowing to end corruption and wipe out violence and terrorism. Kumaratunga urged Sri Lankans to shed their differences and work towards peace in a country where more than 60,000 people have been killed in separatist violence in the past two decades.
More...
Published: Mon Jan 1 14:37:45 EST 2001
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COLOMBO READY FOR UNCONDITIONAL PEACE
TALKS: MINISTER
Bernama-Kyodo,
december 31.
The Sri Lankan government
is ready for immediate, unconditional peace talks with Tamil
rebels to end the 18-year-old civil war, Minister of Constitutional
Affairs and Industrial Development G. L. Peiris said in an interview
published Sunday in a local newspaper. "We are waiting to begin peace talks without any conditions...and
we want to start talks now," Peiris was quoted as saying in a short
interview with the Sunday Observer.
More...
Published: Mon Jan 1 16:50:11 EST 2001
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Arthur C Clarke relishes his 2001
Age,
02 Jan. 2001.
Leaning forward in his wheelchair, the 83-year-old man speaks deadpan into the tape recorder: "Testing one, two, three. Testing. This is not Arthur Clarke, this is his clone." As is so often the case with the grand old man of science fiction, it's a fantasy that might well be a reality in the years to come. A Houston-based company called Encounter 2001 has six strands from his thin gray hair and
wants to launch Clarke DNA into space.Although he uses a wheelchair due to complications from polio he contracted in Sri Lanka in the 1960s,the 83-year-old Clarke looks more regal than feeble as he receives a visitor at his home in Colombo a few days before 2001 dawns. Barefoot in a blue Hawaiian shirt and coffee-coloured sarong, he has blended into the casual couture of his adopted South Asian homeland.
More...
Published: Mon Jan 1 22:01:35 EST 2001
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Gunmen kill German tourist hotel owner and rape woman
Frederica Jansz in Colombo,
3.10 p.m. SLT Thursday December 28.
Ten gunmen today stormed 'Darwin Beach Hotel' at Hungama in the
Hambantota
district and shot dead its owner, a German national and raped one woman
tourist. Police who are conducting investigations have not yet had a
breakthrough and the killers have escaped.
The security guards at the gate had been trussed up by the gunmen who
then
carried out their carnage. It is not yet clear if the motive was
robbery.
Published: Tue Jan 2 23:46:21 EST 2001
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Military say LTTE violates ceasefire
Frederica Jansz in Colombo,
1.55 p.m. SLT Thursday December 28.
The military said today that the LTTE have in over ten instances
violated
its own unilateral cease-fire. The rebel force declared a truce on
December 24, 2000 requesting the government to comply and observe the
good-will measure which the Tigers say would help lay the ground work
for
future negotiations. While the government appears to have not accepted
the
offer, the military said today the LTTE continue to carry out offensives
against government troops, despite its claim that it is observing a
cease-fire.
On Dec 25 at 1.10 a.m. the LTTE had fired six mortars towards the
Forward
Defence Line in Nunavil West. Again on Dec 25 at 4.30 a.m. within the
general area of Kaithady the LTTE lobbed a hand grenade and one soldier
received injuries.
On Dec. 26 at 6.50 a.m. in the general area of Kaithady the LTTE again
lobbed a hand grenade and one soldier received injuries. Also on Dec. 26
at
10.30 a.m. at Nunavil West the LTTE fired one 81mm mortar bomb. On Dec.
26
at 11.30 a.m. in the genera area of Kilali, troops on an observation
post
saw three cadres of the LTTE moving towards the military's Forward
Defence
Lines. The soldiers engaged them in fire and killed 2 rebels and
wounded
one. One soldier was also wounded in the incident. Troops had
recovered
one T56 weapon, one T56 magazine, one hand grenade, one helmet, one
pouch
and one dog tag bearing no. 0299. Again on Dec. 26 at 7.55 p.m. at
Eluthumadduval South, the LTTE fired 60mm and 80 mm mortars and small
arms.
There were no casualties. Again on Dec. 26, 8.10 p.m. at Jaffna, one
soldier was killed and another was wounded due to a confrontation with a
group of rebels. On Dec. 26 , between 8.15 p.m. to 9.25 p.m. at Maduvil
the LTTE fired two 81mm mortars. Around the same time on Dec. 26 at 8.15
p.m. at Eluthumadduval South, a soldier who was deployed in a strong
point
was killed due to LTTE fire.
On Dec 27 at 1.30 p.m. at Kaithady the LTTE fired a couple of small arms
rounds towards the Forward Defence Lines.
Published: Tue Jan 2 23:46:21 EST 2001
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Sri Lanka moves to assure tourists after resort attack
Australian News,
decemebr 31.
Sri Lanka has appealed to would-be travellers to the country
not to cancel their trips after the murder of a local resort owner
and the gang rape of one his guests.The government has assured tourists they will be safe, and
that security had been stepped up at hotels and tourist
resorts.
More...
Published: Mon Jan 1 16:52:04 EST 2001
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The Aid crisis
Sunday Leader - Infolabs,
December 24.
The news is bad, the outlook bleak. Given the hard talk in Paris last week, it
would be oh, so easy for us to pour scorn on the government, shouting aloud that it returned
empty-handed for a second consecutive year, with aid to Sri Lanka frozen. As much as this may serve
the opposition's purpose, it would be not just immoral, but also inaccurate to do so. The Development
Forum meeting in Paris was not an occasion on which aid was to be doled out; Kumaratunga was not
billed to return to Sri Lanka waving a fat cheque. It was merely an occasion on which potential donors
could voice their concerns and hear the government's answers. In the words of Mieko Nishimizu, the
World Bank's vice president for the south Asia region, it was a "listening and learning" experience,
presumably with the donors listening and the government learning. Pledges, if any, will come later.Clearly, Kumaratunga
gambled that by attending the two-day confab personally, she would lend sufficient charisma to
influence the donors otherwise. Instead, she was called upon to "listen and learn," words that would
have irked and vexed her, for she is unaccustomed to hearing criticism.
For six years she has steadfastly refused to lend an ear to these same criticism being voiced at home.
Sadly for the PA, the donors cannot be censored (like the media back home) or disposed of by a hail of
bullets (like the opposition back home). Sri Lanka is in for a rough time, and we have only
Kumaratunga's arrogant ineptitude to blame for our woes. If only she would learn that one message,
things might just begin to get better.
More...
Published: Mon Jan 1 00:41:39 EST 2001
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Student 'bats' for Sri Lanka
News24,
January 1.
One of the most original
pitch invasions in Test history took
place at Kingsmead on Saturday on the final afternoon of the match
between South Africa and Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka had just lost their third wicket, and Marvan Atapattu was
walking off the field. Suddenly, a little earlier than usual, he was passed
by the next batsman in. It was not immediately clear who he was, although he was perfectly
dressed for the occasion, and the South African fielders seemed at a
loss as well.
More...
Published: Mon Jan 1 16:47:25 EST 2001
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Inflation rate increases to 6.2%
The Island,
January 1.
The annual inflation rate on the basis of 12 months moving
average increased to 6.2 per cent for the year 2000
compared to 4.7 percent in 1999.The Census and Statistics Department said that the
Colombo Consumers’ Price Index (CCPI) for the month of
December, 2000 was 2693.0. This shows an increase of
106.3 index points or 4.1 percent from the November index
number of 2586.7.
More...
Published: Mon Jan 1 00:29:52 EST 2001
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It's Christmas every day for some people
Sunday Leader - Infolabs,
december 24.
While we have repeatedly highlighted the atrocious and yes, abominable misuse of public office by
corrupt politicians who have no conscience, a careful perusal of the exact benefits each MP is entitled
to, lent a bird's eye view into prizes which perhaps explains why, even murder is justified in order to
win a ballot and be a member of Sri Lanka's parliament.
In fact, our investigation found that not only Sri Lanka's 225 MPs, but an additional 93 who lost at
the last general election, have had the foresight to take all benefits and MP is entitled to, before the
last parliament was dissolved. No one, at the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry, which handles the
allotments, can explain what has happened to all this equipment and vehicles to all this equipment
and vehicles misappropriated by nearly 100 ex-MPs.
More...
Published: Mon Jan 1 00:38:21 EST 2001
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LTTE, JVP: The system under siege
Weekend Express-Infolabs,
december 23.
Prabhakaran's pitch was clearly intended for an external audience, and that wasn't the Tamil
diaspora."The Western countries desire peace. They are keen to see a settlement through peaceful means. That
is why they are emphasising that the ethnic problem of the Tamils cannot be solved through war.
That is why Chandrika is releasing clever and intricate propaganda to satisfy western countries. She
is deceiving western countries by using phrases such as 'peace', 'negotiation', 'devolution of power'
and 'constitutional reforms'.... We are proving to the world that we are not against peace talks
More...
Published: Mon Jan 1 00:35:00 EST 2001
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Cricket-Pollock takes six wickets, Sri Lanka all out for 95
Yahoo India,
january 2.
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South African captain Shaun Pollock took six wickets against Sri Lanka as the touring side were dismissed for 95 on the first day of the second test on Tuesday. His figures of six for 30 were the best by a South African captain as Sri Lanka crumbled after winning the toss and electing to bat.
More...
Published: Tue Jan 2 08:56:12 EST 2001
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