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Canadian Alliance MP brings out FACT in parliament, slams ministers
Bandula Jayasekara in Colombo,
VT Time 1.40 p.m Thursday 22.
by Bandula Jayasekara in Vancouver: Monte Solberg of the Canadian Alliance
yesterday asked the Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Elinor
Caplan to confirm if the group FACT (Federation of Association of Canadian
Tamils) is a front of a terrorist organisation and adviced that her
cabinet colleagues should not be out raising money for them. Solberg said
that the lawyers representing the department of citizenship and immigration
have confirmed that the group FACT is a fundraising front for the Tamil
tigers. Caplan refused to answer Solberg's question, saying the matter is
before the Supreme court of Canada.
However responding to Solberg's questions Maria Minna minister for
International cooperation and Paul Martin minister of Finance said that they
attended a community event that was made up of respectable Canadian citizens
and they did not attend a dinner with a group of terrorists. But, Solberg
of the Canadian Alliance alleged that both ministers should have known that
the group FACT is a front for a terrorist organisation since the Canadian
department of immigration and the Canadian intelligence service have pointed
to the fact that FACT is a front for a terrorist organization. Solberg said
" I argue that both ministers should have known that as they are cabinet
members and that they should renounce that group that they in fact
unknowingly supported"
Published: Thu Feb 22 16:41:14 EST 2001
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ASK THE GOVERNOR!
Q&A WITH THE GOVENOR OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF SRI LANKA
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The Central Bank of Sri Lanka is a semi-autonomous body at the
apex of the financial sector in Sri Lanka today. The objectives of
the Central Bank include the stabilization of domestic monetary values
and the preservation of the external stability of the Sri Lankan
Rupee. It is the advisor to the Government of Sri Lanka on economic
affairs and it is responsible for the implementation of Exchange
Control Regulations. On January 23rd, 2001, the Central Bank
permitted flee float rates for the Sri Lanka Rupee, leading to a
massive 6.62% overnight depreciation of its value. The UNP is seeking
the mediation of the Court of Appeal to quash this controversial
decision. With this backdrop, we invited the Governor of the Central
Bank, Mr. A. S. Jayawardene to be the guest at our current Question
and Answer session. Submit your questions for Mr. Jayawardene between
February 5-26, 2001, and check
answers here.
We have exptended the Q&A period!
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Canadian ministers deny involvement with Sri Lankan rebels
123India.com,
Feb 23 2001 04:44 IST.
Two Canadian ministers denied accusations Thursday they participated in a fundraiserfor the Tamil Tigers rebel group in Sri Lanka. The accusations, which have been made before and denied consistently, re-surfaced in the House of Commons.
More...
Published: Thu Feb 22 20:18:45 EST 2001
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Sri Lanka Govt Rejects Tamil Rebels' Cease-Fire Offer
Yahoo India,
February 22.
The Sri Lankan government Thursday rejected a cease-fire by Separatist Tamil Tiger rebels
but said it was willing to hold peace talks if the rebels were sincere. We are ready for peace talks at any time, but then the question remains that they will have to be sincere. It should not be
another trick by them to deceive us," top government spokesman Ariya Rubasinghe told The Associated Press.
More...
Published: Thu Feb 22 09:06:22 EST 2001
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Lankan navy sinks Tiger sea convoy, 10 killed
Times of India,
22 February 2001 .
COLOMBO: Sri Lankan navy gunboats attacked a Tiger rebel convoy off the island's northern coast on Wednesday, killing at least 10 guerrillas, the defence ministry here said.
A pre-dawn sea battle erupted when the navy confronted cargo boats of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) approaching the north of the island, the ministry said in a statement.
More...
Published: Thu Feb 22 11:45:33 EST 2001
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Chandrika to brief India on Pak arms loan offer
The Hindustan Times,
Colombo, February 22.
SRI LANKAN President Chandrika Kumaratunga will brief Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the latest developments in the Norwegian brokered peace process and discuss various bilateral issues during her visit to New Delhi beginning on Friday. It has been her government's policy to keep India informed about developments in Sri Lanka in regard to the ethnic issue, especially foreign involvement in it, and other geo-political matters of mutual interest.India will also be briefed about Pakistan's offer to Sri Lanka of a US$ 20 million loan to buy military hardware
from it. Although Indian officials deny that that India is not perturbed by this, the Indians may want to be taken
into confidence in this matter because the loan offer adds a new dimension to the existing Pakistan-Sri Lanka
military cooperation.
More...
Published: Thu Feb 22 17:35:57 EST 2001
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Murali ready to turn heat on England
The Guardian,
february 22.
It was hot here yesterday - a searing oven-like blast that rebounded from the walls of the pavilion and almost took the breath away. Nobody relishes it, and certainly not Muttiah Muralitharan. He has been out of Sri Lanka for 3 months, first in South Africa, then in New Zealand, and because of his groin injury he did not practise for 10 days, picking up a ball again only on Sunday. He says he is tired not from bowling but from the temperature. Murali is getting acclimatised as much as any Englishman.
More...
Published: Thu Feb 22 21:03:02 EST 2001
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Kumaratunga tells Lankan cabinet to tighten belts
Yahoo,
february 22.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga has told her record 44-member cabinet to tighten their belts, allowing
them the use of only eight vehicles and pruning their personal staff to 20 minions each. The state-run newspaper Daily News reported Thursday that ministers and junior ministers had to trim fuel and telephone
expenses as well as take drastic cuts in unlimited transport and aides. "It is the hope of the president that the ministers prove themselves illustrious leaders by strengthening the steps taken at this
juncture when war expenditure is escalating," said report added. Politicians are reportedly already grumbling about the severe hardship the new regulations impose on them. The inordinate
number of ministers and deputies appointed by Kumaratunga and the resulting burden on the exchequer caused much caustic
comment after October's general election.
More...
Published: Thu Feb 22 09:10:26 EST 2001
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Cricket-Team coaches warn Galle pitch may break up
Yahoo India,
February 22.
England coach Duncan Fletcher has praised his team for their discipline after a tough opening
day of the first test against Sri Lanka and both side's coaches have warned that the pitch could break up. Fletcher said
More...
Published: Thu Feb 22 12:00:50 EST 2001
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Sri Lanka Attorney Genl Probes Alleged Elec Bd Corruption
Yahoo India,
February 22.
An inquiry led by Sri Lanka's Attorney General C. Kamalasabaysan is underway to investigate
alleged corruption at state-run Ceylon Electricity Board, an official at the Ministry of Power and Energy said Thursday.Minister of Power and Energy Anuruddha Ratwatte ordered the probe earlier this week after President Chandrika
Kumaratunga leveled the allegations against the CEB in a television interview broadcast last Thursday. "My feeling is that there may be a change of chairman very soon," a senior CEB official told Dow Jones Newswires Frida
More...
Published: Thu Feb 22 09:12:21 EST 2001
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Controversy surrounding Tamil film, snowballing into major showdown
Yahoo India,
February 22.
With the film-makers of ``Kaatrukkenna Veali'' accusing the Censor Board of acting against the Tamil's cause, the
controversy surrounding the denial of Censor Board certificate to the movie is snowballing into a major showdown between the
board and the Tamil film industry.Interestingly, ``Kaatrukkenna Veali'' is the first Tamil film on the ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka and it is presently caught in a tussle
with the Central Board for Film Certification due to its ``indirect'' reference to the banned LTTE and the Sri Lankan army.The three-member FCAT chairman Justice Jaspal Singh, in his order dated February 16, says that the mention of a
friendly-neighbour (Sri Lanka) and depicting its army in bad colours will not be to the liking of that government.
More...
Published: Thu Feb 22 09:14:18 EST 2001
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Peace body urges LTTE, Govt. to start talking
The Hindu (International),
Thursday, February 22, 2001.
COLOMBO, FEB. 21. The British Government move to delay the decision on the proscription of the LTTE has been described by peace activists here as an opportunity for reconciliation. In a statement today, the National Peace Council (NPC) said the actions of both the Government and the rebels till now seemed to have been dictated by the possibility that the U.K. might outlaw the LTTE on February 19. ``The indefinite postponement of the decision by the British Government is an opportunity for both parties to get away from an over-emphasis on the ban and take positive steps regarding the peace process.''
More...
Published: Wed Feb 21 18:45:40 EST 2001
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Sri Lanka president arrives in New Delhi in bid to revive SAARC
123India.com,
Feb 22 2001 21:34 IST.
NEW DELHI, Feb 22 (AFP) - Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga arrived in New Delhi Thursday to open talks with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in a bid to revive the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). The Sri Lankan president accompanied by Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar and other senior officials was received at Delhi's Indira Gandhi Airport by Indian Social Justice Minister Maneka Gandhi.
More...
Published: Thu Feb 22 11:37:35 EST 2001
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UNP to submit proposals for independent commissions
Frederica Jansz in Colombo,
6.25 p.m. SLT Wednesday February 21 .
The United National Party meanwhile will soon put forward proposals in
Parliament for an independent judicial service commission, an independent
elections commission, an independent public services commission and an
independent police commission. The UNP maintains that a Parliamentary Select
Committee set up for this purpose by President Chandrika Kumaratunge, and
chaired by Minister Rauf Hakeem is a joke and that the UNP will not be
referring the proposals to this PSC.
Yesterday, Tuesday 20th, the UNP submitted the draft proposals to the various
political parties. Both the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) and the
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) have accepted the proposals in principle
subject to any amendments the two parties would wish to make after a study of
the document is concluded. The UNP has set aside March 5, to discuss any
amendments to the document. The JVP will make their suggestions, if any, on
this day having consulted with the party's politbureau.
Sources within the UNP said the independence of these commissions would be
ensured without any doubt by the implementation of a constitutional council
which will in itself be an independent body.
The main schedule of this document will cover 85 percent of the
appointments to
these commissions. The appointing authority for this schedule will be on the
recommendation of the constitutional council.
The Chairman of the Constitutional Council will be Speaker, Anura Bandaranaike
while Premier Rathnasiri Wickremanayake and Opposition Leader Ranil
Wickremasinghe will be members. Five other members representing people of
eminence and stature from civil society will also be chosen. Two of this five
will represent the minority community.
Published: Wed Feb 21 08:00:05 EST 2001
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Solheim has ?cordial? talks with LTTE
The Hindustan Times,
Colombo, February 21.
THE NORWEGIAN facilitator in the Sri Lankan peace process, Mr.Erik Solheim met the LTTE's chief negotiator Dr.Anton Balasingham in London on Tuesday and discussed a wide range of issues in a "cordial atmosphere", the TamiNet website said today quoting sources in the LTTE. The three-hour meeting over lunch assumes significance in the light of the British decision on Monday not to ban any foreign terrorist organisation just now under its new anti-terrorism law. While this decision has removed a possible stumbling block in the peace process, there is still a danger of the LTTE's getting banned at any time because the provisions of the law are "draconian".
More...
Published: Wed Feb 21 16:23:50 EST 2001
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Top LTTE official escapes ambush
TamilNet,
February 21.
Sri Lanka Army commandos Monday ambushed senior LTTE officials as they were leaving after meeting an inter-religious peace group at Madhu in the Vanni, sources said. The LTTE officials' vehicle was caught in a claymore blast which badly damaged it, but the occupants escaped unhurt, the sources said.
More...
Published: Wed Feb 21 22:11:54 EST 2001
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SriLankan Airbus makes emergency landing after engine failure
123India.com,
Feb 21 2001 18:17 IST.
A Sri Lankan airlines Airbus A-320 aircraft carrying some 123 passengers and eight crew made an emergency landing Wednesday after one of its engines failed, airport officials said. The pilots of the Dhaka-bound twin-engine SriLankan Airbus reported that the right engine had failed and the airport cleared them to return to base after jettisoning its fuel over the sea, officials said.
More...
Published: Wed Feb 21 09:17:56 EST 2001
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Lankan navy sinks two LTTE boats, 15 rebels killed
The Hindustan Times,
Colombo, February 21.
SRI LANKAN navy destroyed two logistic boats belonging to the LTTE and killed 10 rebels in a midnight encounter near Point Pedro in the northern Jaffna peninsula, official reports said Wednesday. Escort vessels of a naval convoy, moving from eastern Trincomalee port to Kankesanthurai in the north, attacked a fleet of LTTE boats about 30 nautical miles north east of Point Pedro on Tuesday night.
More...
Published: Wed Feb 21 11:39:03 EST 2001
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Sri Lanka feel the heat
BBC South Asia,
Wednesday, 21 February, 2001, 08:27 GMT .
Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya claims the heat and humidity will not give his side any advantage over England in the first Test, which starts in Galle on Thursday. They recently returned following tours to South Africa and New Zealand and have had to re-acclimatise. "We've been away for the last two or three months and it has been difficult for us to adjust," Jayasuriya said.
More...
Published: Thu Feb 22 07:11:18 EST 2001
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Sri Lanka's lost innocence is cricket's gain
The Times,
wednesday, 21 February.
AS WE brace ourselves for the beginning of what promises to be a bitterly fought Test series against Sri Lanka, we hear yet more tales of bad vibes between the sides. It is very strange. It doesn’t seem quite right. It is not so long ago that Sri Lanka were the pixies of world cricket: charming, talented, a gallant little country that felt honoured to be numbered among the Test match nations of the world.
Of course, they always lost. They expected to lose. But they were taking part, and that was honour enough. They made friends, batsmen played wristy cameos, the bowlers didn’t do much at all and everyone went home happy.
More...
Published: Wed Feb 21 04:26:33 EST 2001
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Bookies favourite Lanka take on England in three-Test series
Yahoo India,
February 22.
With bookies favouring Sri Lanka to win the three-Test series against England, home team skipper Sanath
Jayasuriya predicted a tough fight in the first Test tomorrow.he cricket pitch in this southern port city is likely to favour spin and Sri Lanka hopes its star spinner, Muttiah Muralitharan,
can turn the tide of the game in its favour.The home team is favoured six-to-five over England, according to the British bookmaking firm, William Hill. England are
quoted a two-to-one, the same odds as a draw.
More...
Published: Wed Feb 21 17:05:09 EST 2001
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Chandrika visit to India - a mission to test the waters?
The Hindu (International),
Thursday, February 22, 2001.
COLOMBO, FEB. 21. The Sri Lankan President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, will begin a three-day visit to New Delhi on Friday, amid considerable confusion back home over India's position on the Norwegian-backed initiative aimed at resolving the conflict in the island. During her last visit to India in December 1998, Ms. Kumaratunga signed the Free Trade Agreement with the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee. Since then, she has been re- elected as President, and her coalition voted back to power.
More...
Published: Wed Feb 21 16:24:27 EST 2001
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US astronaut Aldrin to visit Sri Lanka
123India.com,
Feb 21 2001 18:39 IST.
US astronaut, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, the second man to set foot on the moon after Neil Armstrong is due to make a brief stopover in Sri Lanka on Sunday, the US embassy here said. Aldrin will be in Sri Lanka for a few hours, the embassy said adding that he was on a tour of South Asia.
More...
Published: Wed Feb 21 09:16:01 EST 2001
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Sri Lanka rebels agree to free two civilians
MSNBC,
21 February 2001.
Sri Lanka's Tamil rebels have agreed to release two Sinhalese fishermen among about 20 captives after an appeal by a delegation of Buddhist monks, the delegation's leader said on Wednesday.''The release was agreed to as goodwill gesture,'' Siyamabalgaswewa Wimalasara told Reuters from the northern town of Vavuniya, adding the rebels had also promised to consider freeing five other civilian captives.
He said the two fisherman, Ajith Kumarasiri and U.B. Chandrapala, were captured by the rebels two months ago while fishing in a lake near Vavuniya, 250 km (155 miles) north of the capital Colombo.
More...
Published: Wed Feb 21 06:36:35 EST 2001
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Sri Lanka Business Briefs: Belgium Mission To Boost Trade
Yahoo India,
Thursday February 22, 2001 8:42 PST.
A trade mission from Belgium, due to arrive in Sri Lanka next week, will aim to boost trade ties and study the possibility of setting up joint ventures in the island nation, the Consulate of Belgium in Sri Lanka said in a statement Thursday.
More...
Published: Thu Feb 22 11:47:52 EST 2001
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Sri Lanka raises customs duty amid worsening trade deficit
123India.com,
Feb 21 2001 12:55 IST.
COLOMBO, Feb 21 (AFP) - Sri Lanka sharply increased taxes on imports from Wednesday as the country's trade deficit widened and foreign reserves fell alarmingly, finance ministry officials said. The government will impose a surcharge on customs duty which will take the 35 percent tariff band to an effective 49 percent rate with immediate effect, officials said.
More...
Published: Wed Feb 21 04:14:23 EST 2001
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Vijaya Kumaratunga assassination: ASP remanded, two more suspects arrested
CDN,
21 February 2001.
Colombo Fort Magistrate and Additional District Judge, Priyantha Fernando yesterday remanded an Assistant
Superintendent of Police, in connection with the disappearance of Tarzan Weerasinghe alias Herath one of the two main suspects in the Vijaya Kumaratunga assassination case. The ASP was remanded till March 2.Inquiries revealed that Tarzan Weerasinghe and Lionel alias Gamini, arrested earlier by the CID in connection with theassassination, had disappeared from custody. Yesterday, the CID took into custody a leading motor spares dealer and an employee of a private firm in connection with the Kumaratunga asassination. One of the suspects has been described as a former JVP member.
More...
Published: Wed Feb 21 00:40:02 EST 2001
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SRI LANKA PRESS: Korea Grants US$26M Loan For Water Proj
Yahoo India,
21 February.
COLOMBO (Dow Jones)--South Korea has granted a US$26 million soft loan to the Sri Lankan government to fund a water supply project in the southern Gall district, reports the Daily Mirror. The loan agreement has already been signed by secretary to the treasury P.B. Jayasundera and the Korean Ambassador to Sri Lanka, the report added.
More...
Published: Wed Feb 21 08:03:53 EST 2001
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London's 'safe haven' shattered by dawn raids
CDN,
21 February 2001.
The world's dissidents have adopted the capital as an operational headquarters, report Peter Foster and Danielle
Demetriou London Feb 19 the dawn raids in north and west London were carefully planned. At 6.30 am on Tuesday
four men were dragged from their beds and arrested by officers from Scotland Yard's anti-Terrorist Branch. Militant groups from many of the most unstable corners of the world - Kashmir, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Egypt,
Algeria and Turkey - are known to be raising funds and disseminating propaganda in Britain.
More...
Published: Wed Feb 21 00:42:04 EST 2001
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11 killed in fresh Lanka fighting
Times of India (Breaking News),
20 February.
COLOMBO: At least 11 Tamil Tiger rebels were killed in fresh fighting with government forces in northern Sri Lanka, the defence ministry here said Tuesday.Troops killed seven members of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the Jaffna peninsula while the other four were shot dead at Mannar and Mullaitivu districts, the ministry said.
More...
Published: Wed Feb 21 07:57:56 EST 2001
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Sri Lanka in control
BBC South Asia,
Thursday, 22 February, 2001, 12:02 GMT .
First Test England v Sri Lanka, Galle Sri Lanka: First Innings 221-2 (Stumps, Day One) Sri Lanka had England firmly on the back foot after the opening day's play in the first Test at Galle.
Marvan Atapattu was unbeaten on 85 and Aravinda de Silva 56 not out as the home side looked destined to post a huge first innigs total.
More...
Published: Thu Feb 22 11:41:41 EST 2001
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Asiri offers two-for-three bonus
Yahoo India,
February 21.
Sri Lanka's Asiri Hospitals Ltd
has offered a three-for-two bonus issue of shares, the Colombo Stock Exchange said on Wednesday.
More...
Published: Wed Feb 21 09:17:11 EST 2001
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© Copyright 2000, Lanka Academic Network.
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