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Government to lift the ban on Tamil Tigers- Minister Saroj Pathirana in London, Wednesday 06/03/02 1805 GMT. Sri Lankan government will soon de-proscribe the LTTE, newly appointed cabinet minister said. Minister for Plantation Infrastructure P.Chandrasekaran said that the government is considering the lift the ban imposed on the Tamil Tigers, provided the discussions being held will be successful. Talking with BBC’s Sandeshaya, he further added that the UNP-led government is also considering the abolition of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), under which hundreds of Tamils are held in prisons. "The PTA will probably be removed within a month" Published: Wed Mar 6 13:04:56 EST 2002

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Ask Mahinda Answers 1-28 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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Giving up Ealam; Too Early to Comment says Tamilselvan Saroj Pathirana in London, Wednesday 06/03/02 1805 GMT. The LTTE are satisfied with the initiatives taken by the Sri Lankan government to establish a regular peace process, a senior leader of the organisation said...

Ajantha de Zoysa released on bail Frederica Jansz in Colombo, 1.10 p.m. SLT Wednesday March 6. National list MP for the Peoples Alliance, Ajantha de Zoysa was today released on bail after having been remanded yesterday by the Kandy magistrate...

Court issues notice on Air Force commander Frederica Jansz in Colombo, 1 p.m. SLT Wednesday March 6. Notice was issued today on Air Force Chief Jayalath Weerakkoddy in connection with a writ application filed in the Appeal Court of Colombo...

Non-LTTE outfits face political oblivion The Hindu (International), 07 March 2002. Sri Lanka's former Tamil militant groups, which gave up the armed struggle in 1987 at India's persuasion, are now coming to grips with the reality that their decision to join the country's democratic political mainstream has got them nowhere...

Chandrika will not scuttle peace bid Gulf-News, 07 March 2002. The Norwegian-backed peace process aimed at ending Sri Lanka's Tamil minority ethnic conflict has sailed through the first round of protest without strong opposition with President Chandrika Kumaratunga reiterating that she had reservations about it but she would not scuttle the peace initiative...

Sri Lankan research body against Indian coconut imports IANS/Yahoo, 07 March 2002. A government move to import coconuts to Sri Lanka, including from India, has been slammed by a research authority warning that foreign bugs and diseases could infect the island's indigenous plantations...

Mammoth win for elephant polo team CNN, 07 March 2002. Sri Lanka -- It is possibly the heaviest and biggest sporting team on the planet, outweighing the more popular and world famous basketball, cricket and football sides that grace television screens and newspapers...

Pakistan 234 All Out, Sri Lanka 94/1 Yahoo/REUTER, March 6, 2002. Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya cuts a delivery from Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar (not in picture) on the opening day of the Asian Test Championship final in Lahore March 6,2002...

Monitoring team to meet LTTE chief today Frederica Jansz in Colombo, 12.30 p.m. SLT Wednesday March 6. Major General Trond Furuhovde, leader of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission is scheduled to meet with LTTE Leader, Vellupillai Prabhakaran today...

SU ask Ranil not to allow Pongai Tamil in Colombo Ranmali Wijesuriya in Colombo, SLT 10.15 a.m Wednesday March 6. Sihala Urumaya has asked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe not to allow Pongai Tamil celebrations to be held in Colombo...

Ceasefire Challenged in court by JVP and SU Daily Mirror, March 6, 2002. Another two writ applications had been filed in the court of Appeal on Monday by the leader of the Sihala Urumaya and the General Secretary of the JVP against the Prime Minister, the LTTE leader and 24 others...

Sri Lanka Activists Demand Action Against Torture in Police Custody Yahoo, 07 March 2002. Human rights activists are pressing the government of Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil Wickremasinghe to take action against policemen accused of torturing four men held in custody last month...

Kumaratunga wants to cooperate with PM to solve ethnic strife Press Trust of India, Colombo,Wednesday, March 06, 2002. Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga today sought to end a tense stand-off between Sri Lanka's rival power centres, declaring her intent to join Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in pursuing peace, despite sharp differences over his controversial truce deal with the LTTE...

LTTE prepares to move in Hindu, 06 March 2002. In this village deep inside the LTTE-controlled territory, a group of people waited at the main LTTE office to see the area leader, Sivagnyanam Karikalan...

Group of Buddhist monks protest against Norwegian ambassador Leo de Lile in Colombo, 1.30 pm, SLT, March. 05, 2002. Buddhist monks protest peacefully out side the Norwegian embassy in Colombo on Tuesday, March...

Parliamentary debate on truce concludes Tamilnet, 06 March 2002. The two-day Parliamentary debate on permanent ceasefire agreement between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers concluded Tuesday evening with a winding up speech by the Constitutional Affairs Minister Professor G...

Sri Lanka to Host Asian Athletics Championship Nothern Light, Wednesday, March 06, 2002 2:20 AM EST . The Sri Lankan government said Wednesday it will host the Asian Track and Field Championship in August to help show that the country is more secure and stable now that a cease-fire agreement has been reached in the 18-year civil war...

Pakistan all out for 234 Cricinfo, 07 March 2002. The crowd gradually building up was in a merry mood when the game resumed after lunch...

Sri Lanka to Establish Industrial Zone for Handicraftsmen Nothern Light, Tuesday, March 05, 2002 10:19 PM EST . Sri Lankan Minister of Rural Economy and Deputy Finance Minister Bandula Gunawardena has announced that the government will set up an industrial zone for the benefit of handicraftsmen at Sigiriya, some 170 kilometers northeast of capital Colombo, where a former rock fortress stands...

Sri Lanka make inroads BBC South Asia, 06 March 2002. Sri Lanka have made a series of inroads on the first day of the Asian Test Championship to leave Pakistan requiring a rescue operation Pakistan struggled to 108-4 in the morning session after being put in to bat...

Sri Lanka lifts Tamil travel curbs BBC South Asia, Tuesday, 5 March, 2002, 17:47 GMT . Officials in the Sri Lankan interior ministry say they have lifted travel restrictions on Tamil civilians with immediate effect...

Polls to 20 local bodies postponed Frederica Jansz in Colombo, 3.20 p.m. SLT Tuesday March 5. Elections to twenty local bodies will be held on a date other than March 20, 2002...

Journalists Launch Peace Campaign Saroj Pathirana in London, Wednesday 05/03/02 1210 GMT. A group of leading journalists representing many public and private media institutions launched a poster campaign asking the authorities to take concrete measures towards a political solution to Sri Lanka’s national problem...

Switzerland welcomes the formal agreement Federal Department of Foreign affairs (DFA)-Switzerland , 06 March 2002. Switzerland welcomes the formal agreement on a ceasefire between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE)...

Monks hand over petition to the Norwegians Ranmali Wijesuriya in Colombo, SLT 12.15 p.m Tuesday 5 March. Over 200 monks who walked peacefully to the Norwegian embassy in Sri Lanka handed over a petition to a Norwegian embassy official in Colombo...

Cache of LTTE explosives seized in Thailand The Island, March 6, 2002. Police yesterday seized a cache of explosives believed to be destined for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebel group in Sri Lanka...

Apollo Health plans overseas expansion Yahoo India, 06 March 2002. Apollo Health and Lifestyle Ltd (AHLL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Chennai-based Apollo Hopsitals group, is planning to spread its wings abroad by setting up shops in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Singapore and the Middle East, reports The Financial Express...

Sri Lankan Government Defends Norwegian Role in Peace People's Daily, 06 March 2002. Sri Lankan government on Tuesday defended the role of Norway as peace facilitators in the country in the face of criticism by President Chandrika Kumaratunga...

Pakistan play Sri Lanka for Asian title amid tight security The Hindustan Times, Lahore, March 5 . In-form Pakistan take on Sri Lanka in the final of the second Asian Test championship here at the Gaddafi stadium starting Wednesday amid tight security...

Businessmen toast Ranil, Prabhakaran Sunday Times, March 3, 2002. Sri Lanka's business glitterati wined and dined at a Colombo hotel last week and in the process rose to their feet and clicked their glasses to toast Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran over the peace process...

Gangs linked to terrorism, study finds National Post, 06 March 2002. TORONTO - Violent ethnic gangs in Canada's largest cities appear to have close links to terrorist factions in South Asia, according to an independent academic study...

Sri Lankan women aim for bigger political voice Asia Times, 06 March 2002. Prior to hitting the campaign trail for local government polls to be held this month, Nimalka Fernando got another taste of the sexism that prevails in Sri Lanka's political culture...

Sri Lanka Bajaj dealer wants reversal of green bill IANS/Yahoo, 06 March 2002. The Sri Lanka agent for Indian-made Bajaj Auto three-wheelers is set to fight a proposed government ban on exhaust-spewing petrol engines, a company official said...

Seven Indian fishermen arrested Frederica Jansz in Colombo, 2 p.m. SLT Tuesday March 5. Seven Indian fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lanka Navy at Nainathivu in the Jaffna peninsula on Saturday March 2, 2002...

Norway finalising Lanka truce monitoring team Bahrain Tribune, 05 March 2002. Norway is working on finalising a team of Scandinavians who will monitor a cease-fire between the Sri Lankan government forces and Tamil Tiger guerrillas, officials here said yesterday...

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2001 - Sri Lanka US Department of State, 06 March 2002. Sri Lanka is a democratic republic with an active multiparty system...

No compromise at cost of country's security: Lanka South Nexus, COLOMBO, Mar 05. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he was eager to make peace with Tamil Tiger rebels, but not at the expense of compromising the country's security and sovereignty...

Cricket: Sri Lanka happy to resume international match in Pakistan Yahoo Singapore, 05 March 2002. Sri Lankan coach Dav Whatmore said his side are happy to reopen international cricket in Pakistan and have no security concerns...

India Further Reduces Tariff on Sri Lankan Exports Nothern Light, Monday, March 04, 2002 10:06 PM EST . India has further lowered tariff barriers on 4,561 Sri Lankan import products effective on March 1, the official Daily News said on Tuesday...

Scrutiny was intense at ICC Yahoo India, 05 March 2002. With all the attention on the outstanding individuals shortlisted for the ICC’s Elite Panel of Match Referees, it’s been overlooked that only two of the five figure in the current (Test-playing countries’) nominated line-up...

Dollar dilemma for Sri Lanka cricket BuisnessNet, march 4. Sri Lanka's cricket board is in a dilemma whether to honour a $3.3-million logo contract with a local tea company or abide by the International Cricket Council's strict dress code for two upcoming tournaments and lose money...

Truce Monitors in Sri Lanka to Meet Tamil Rebel Leader People's Daily, 10:13 AM SLT. Truce Monitors in Sri Lanka to Meet Tamil Rebel Leader Trond Furuhovde, head of the monitoring team overseeing truce in Sri Lanka left capital Colombo Wednesday to have talks with separatist Tamil Tiger rebel leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran in the rebel-held Wanni area in the north of the country, diplomatic sources said...

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