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Opposition may move court against Ranil Govt. The Hindu NUS, Colombo, Feb. 25. (UNI). Politics of cohabitation in governing Sri Lanka seems to be moving backward with main Opposition parties planning to take legal action against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe-led United National Front, for signing the ceasefire agreement with the Tamil Tiger rebels, State radio said today. The Opposition parties planning to take legal action include Peoples' Alliance (PA), Janatha Vimukthi Pramuna (JVP) and the ex-militant Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP). The coalition partners of the previous PA Government said they were moving courts as the government had violated the Constitution by not consulting the President, Parliament and Cabinet of Ministers before signing the agreement. More... Published: Mon Feb 25 12:43:12 EST 2002

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Ask Mahinda Answers 1-6 now available! The Lanka Academic is delighted to announce the 8th guest in its series of Q & A sessions: Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Leader of the Opposition in the Sri Lankan Parliament. With the recent change in leadership in the Sri Lankan government, the peace process appears to be gaining fresh new momentum. This is your opportunity to ask questions from Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksa related to Sri Lankan politics and receive answers by clicking here. The answers will appear here.

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Seven PMSD men arrested Frederica Jansz in Colombo, 4 p.m. SLT Monday February 25. Seven men attached to the Prime Ministers Security Division were arrested by Fort police yesterday at Galle Face Green...

Lankan govt, President differ over cabinet Times of India, 25 February 2002. Sri Lanka's government was Monday embroiled in another confrontation with President Chandrika Kumaratunga over the expansion of the cabinet, officials said...

Monaro boss and MP, Ajantha de Zoysa remanded over Maturata case Frederica Jansz in Colombo, 3.30 p.m. SLT Monday February 25. Ajantha de Zoysa, Member of Parliament for the PA, also owner and ex chairman of Monaro Group 4/ Security Services Ltd was remanded today on the orders of Pradeep Hettiarachchi, Additional Magistrate, Kandy...

Opinion Rises Over Peace Prospects in Sri Lanka Nothern Light, Monday, February 25, 2002 9:52 PM EST . Over 80 percent of Sri Lankans believe the war can be brought to an end and peace achieved through negotiations with separatist Tamil Tiger rebels, according to an opinion poll...

Parliamentary debate date on MOU advanced tamilnet, 26 February 2002. The Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe Monday evening decided to summon the parliament on March 4 to debate the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Earlier the parliament was scheduled to meet on March 5...

Canada to aid Sri Lanka in shaping constitution Globe and Mail, February 23, 2002 . The Canadian government promised yesterday to do what it can to help build a lasting peace in Sri Lanka after the government there and Tamil Tiger rebels agreed to a ceasefire aimed at ending the 18-year-old civil war...

The first step taken in a Lankan minefield Gulf-News, 26 February 2002. "The night is dark, we are far from home and one step is enough for me," Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, told journalists on his return from a tour of the 'border' with the Tamil Tiger (LTTE) rebels with whom he had signed a ceasefire agreement...

Pak. hails Lankan ceasefire accord The Hindu NUS, Islamabad, Feb. 25. (PTI). Pakistan today welcomed the ceasefire agreement between the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE...

U.S. Government Donates Medical Equipment to Jaffna General Teaching Hospital US Embassy SL, 25 February 2002. American Ambassador E. Ashley Wills today donated on behalf of the United States Government US $100,000 of medical equipment to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital...

WORLD BANK PROCUREMENT - SRI LANKA, CENTRAL BANK PROJECT Nothern Light, Monday, February 25, 2002 5:28 AM EST . The Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka has received a credit from the International Development Association (IDA) toward the Sri Lanka Central Bank Strengthening Project...

Truce Accord in Sri Lanka Could Herald Peace Talks New York Times, February 23, 2002. (Note: registration required at nytimes.com) By CELIA W. DUGGER, NEW DELHI If there is to be a lasting solution, the Tigers would have to give up the idea of a separate nation for the country's mostly Hindu Tamil minority, while the government, dominated by the island's mainly Buddhist Sinhalese majority, would have to grant the Tamils far greater autonomy, political analysts say...

Cricket - ICC KnockOut gets a revamp Yahoo India, 26 February 2002. The International Cricket Council (ICC) biennial knockout tournament has been revamped with a new name and format, world cricket's governing body said on Monday...

Tourist lust for ivory wiping out Asian elephants Yahoo India, 26 February 2002. Asia's wild elephants are being wiped out by the demand for ivory trinkets from wealthy tourists, a report published on Monday said...

Prabhakaran pre-empted Chandrika HT, 25 February 2002. The LTTE chief, Velupillai Prabhakaran, pre-empted likely opposition from President Chandrika Kumaratunga to some clauses favourable to the Tamil Tigers in the draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Sri Lankan government by signing on the draft sent to him for comments...

Sri Lankan Presidential Secretariat Refutes Cabinet Spokesman's Statement Xinhuanet, 25 February 2002. Sri Lankan Presidential Secretariat has refuted the statement of government spokesman and Constitutional Affair Minister G...

Poll says Lankans give thumbs up to peace talks Times of India, Monday, Feb 25, 2002, 4.45 PM. COLOMBO: Confidence in Sri Lanka's peace process has soared in recent months despite fierce nationalist opposition to a Norwegian bid to end nearly two decades of ethnic war, an opinion poll showed on Monday...

Sri Lankan Opposition Legislator Arrested Nothern Light, Monday, February 25, 2002 5:25 AM EST . COLOMBO, Feb 25, 2002 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- A legislator from Sri Lanka's main opposition People's Alliance (PA)of President Chandrika Kumaratunga was arrested and remanded Monday, police said...

PM explains details of MOU with LTTE Frederica Jansz in Colombo, 1 p.m. SLT Sunday February 24. Addressing a press conference this morning Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe reiterated that any negotiations with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam would not at any point consider a separate state...

LTTE alacrity surprised him The Hindu (International), 25 February 2002. The Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, today admitted to have been taken by surprise when the LTTE signed the truce agreement earlier than expected and said this had prevented him from giving the President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, time to examine the final document before signing it himself...

Colours of the isle Gulf-News, 25 February 2002. To the sound of Kandyian drum rolls, dusky silhouettes swayed down the ramp wrapped in clouds of smoke...

Sri Lanka appeals for aid to rebuild war zone Yahoo India, february 24. Sri Lanka appealed on Sunday for international aid to help rebuild its war-devastated north and east as it prepares for the first peace talks in seven years with its Tamil Tiger rebels...

Next step is to begin preliminary talks: Sri Lankan PM The Hindustan Times, Colombo, February 24 . Buoyed up over putting in place an indefinite truce with the LTTE, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sunday said he hoped to open preliminary talks soon on future negotiations with the rebel group and sought global help in finding a political solution...

Norway takes on mediator's role Gulf-News, 25 February 2002. Norway has promoted itself from being just the facilitator in Sri Lanka's peace process to the role of mediator, according to the ceasefire agreement they brokered between the Colombo government and the rebel Tamil Tigers (LTTE)...

Sri Lanka to Begin Peace Talks in Three Months Xinhuanet, 25 February 2002. The Norwegian-brokered peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and separatist Tamil Tigerrebels are to begin in three months, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Sunday...

CII delegation to visit Sri Lanka Yahoo India, 25 February 2002. A CII trade delegation is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka for two days from tomorrow to hold talks with Sri Lankan ministers of commerce and industries and trade bodies with a view to improving bilateral trade between the island nation and India...

Pakistan Welcomes Sri Lankan Cease-fire Agreement Nothern Light, Monday, February 25, 2002 8:24 AM EST . ISLAMABAD, Feb 25, 2002 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- the Government of Pakistan on Monday welcomed the cease-fire Agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam singed on February 22...

Chandrika refused to sign agreement Gulf-News, february 24. The Sri Lankan government released a statement of intent delivered by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday to ward off criticism on two major issues in the ceasefire accord they signed with rebel Tamil Tigers (LTTE) even as the prime minister rejected a claim by President Chandrika Kumaratunga that she was not consulted on the agreement...

Sri Lankan guerrilla dream comes to an end National Post, february 24. Early in Sri Lanka's civil war, Vellupillai Prabhakaran, the reclusive leader of the Tamil Tiger rebels, ordered his followers to shoot him dead if he ever deviated from his aim of achieving total independence for the country's ethnic Tamil minority...

Lift ban on LTTE: Nedumaran The Hindu (Southern States), 25-02-2002 . The Centre should lift the ban on the LTTE following the signing of the ceasefire agreement between the Sri Lankan Government and the outfit, the Tamil Nationalist Movement leader, P...

Sri Lanka truce begins BBC, Saturday, 23 February, 2002, 09:40. A permanent ceasefire has come into force in Sri Lanka which it is hoped will lead to peace talks between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels...

Prabhakaran sprang a surprise on Ranil Times of India, 11:33 PM SLT.  [ SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2002  8:27:45 PM ] COLOMBO: LTTE leader V Prabhakaran sprang a surprise on the Sri Lankan government by signing a ceasefire agreement even before the Cabinet could be apprised of the approved draft on Wednesday, according to the sequence of events disclosed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sunday...

Sri Lanka to begin rebel talks BBC South Asia, Sunday, 24 February, 2002, 11:25 GMT . The Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremasinghe, has said he is not ruling out anything in resolving the country's civil war - except granting Tamil Tiger rebels a separate state...

Allow Sri Lanka peace talks here: Veeramani The Hindu (Southern States), 24-02-2002 . CHENNAI, FEB. 23. While welcoming the ``permanent ceasefire accord'' reached between the Sri Lankan Prime Minister and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the Dravidar Kazhagam general secretary, K...

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