The Lanka Academic
 
MARCH 22, 2002 EST, USA
 
A NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED BY LACNET
 
VOL. 2, NO. 350
TLA FEATURE CORNER
Headline Summary
F R E E      C L A S S I F I E D S
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LTTE tax threat
HindustanTimes, March 23. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have threatened to impose a monthly tax of 8 per cent on government servants in the Tamil North and East. A Sri Lankan government communique said yesterday that LTTE cadres barged into the Manmunai (North) District Secretariat earlier this week and announced the plan to impose the levy. The LTTE is already taxing traders and professionals in Batticaloa and Trincomalee, two of the most populous districts of eastern Sri Lanka. The wealthy are subjected to extortion and those reluctant to pay up are kidnapped for ransom. More...
Published: Fri Mar 22 23:09:27 EST 2002
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This session has now ended.

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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O  T  H  E  R      H  E  A  D  L  I  N  E  S
Don't force the pace, LTTE warns Ranil
 The Hindu (International), Mar 23, 2002. The LTTE perceives the visit to Jaffna by the Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, as a move to force the pace of the peace process and has warned that such attempts could undermine the ongoing initiative to resolve the ethnic conflict... Back to the top
LTTE front to hold fund raiser in New York.
 Thirunavukkarasu Sathasivam, March 21. Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), allegedly to be the LTTE's premiere arm for international fund-raising, is to hold a grand fund raising event in New York City, on the 23rd of March 2002... Back to the top
Lankan govt tables its maiden budget
 TOI, March 23. The United National Front (UNF) government presented its first budget in parliament on Friday promising to resurrect the country's down trodden economy and stimulate greater foreign investment... Back to the top
Sri Lanka Budget
 Leo de Lile in Colombo, 6.00pm, SLT, March.22, 2002. Sri Lanka's Finance Minister K.N. Choksy enters the Sri Lanka’s parliament in Kotte, to present the maiden budget of the United National Front Government on Friday... Back to the top
Tamils turn to the political battlefield
 Asia Times, March 23. With the formal ceasefire between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebels still holding, it seems possible that talks between the two sides could begin early in April... Back to the top
Refugees unwilling to return home
 Asia Times, March 23. The peace process being brokered by Norway has created fear among the more than 110,000 Tamil refugees living in India and other parts of the world... Back to the top
Thailand or Maldives may host Lanka talks
 Times of India, MARCH 23, 2002. Norway’s bid to broker peace in Sri Lanka has received a new boost with a top rebel leader planning to return home while preparations are underway for direct talks, Foreign Minister Tyronne Fernando said... Back to the top
Canada voice strong support for Lankas peace move
 Ranmali Wijesuriya in Colombo, SLT 10.45 p.m Friday 22 March. Canadian secretary of state (Asia-Pacific) David Kilgour who will arrive in Sri Lanka on March 24 with a seven member Canadian business delegation has expressed his governments strong support for the progress that is being made towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Sri Lanka... Back to the top
Sri Lankan president, minister accused of malpractice, three killed
 Yahoo Singapore, March 20, 9:44 PM. At least three people were killed in Sri Lanka during violence related to local council polls, while voting monitors accused President Chandrika Kumaratunga of violating election laws... Back to the top
Ceasefire monitors have no work: Sri Lanka
 NDTV/MSNBC, March 22, 2002 (Colombo):. Sri Lanka has said that Scandinavian monitors mandated to oversee a truce between government forces and the LTTE have practically no work to do, as there are no reports of violations by either side... Back to the top
Sri Lanka prepares ground for talks
 BBC South Asia, Friday, 22 March, 2002, 12:55 GMT . The Sri Lankan Government has begun the process of formally asking a foreign country for permission to host peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels, Foreign Minister Tyronne Fernando said... Back to the top
Lanka orders release of 29 Indian fishermen
 Press Trust of India, Colombo,Friday, March 22, 2002. Twenty-nine Indian fishermen, arrested in recent weeks by the Sri Lankan Navy for entering Sri Lankan waters, have been ordered to be released by a court in Jaffna, officials said... Back to the top
Prime Minister reiterate need for peace
 Waruna Karunatilake in Colombo, 1207 slt 22.03.02. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe today reiterated the need for peace saying there were no options other than a political settlement to the ethnic problem... Back to the top
Five Presidential Security Division personnel accused of trying to kill Minister S.B.Dissanayake granted bail.
 Waruna Karunatilake in Colombo, 1213 slt 22.03.02. The Court of Appeal today granted bail to five members of the Presidential Security Division accused of planning to murder Minister S... Back to the top
How to win the World Cup…
 Yahoo India, March 22, 1:06 PM. Will India win the World Cup in 2003? That was the topic of debate yesterday at the President Hotel when a panel comprising former cricketers, a journalist and an ad man met on the occasion of the sixth International Ceat Cricket Ratings Awards... Back to the top
Police say first time in 32 years elections were held with out curfew
 Waruna Karunatilake in Colombo, 1216 slt 22.03.02. Police said today that it was the first time in 32 years that elections have been cocluded without imposing a curfew after voting... Back to the top
Sri Lanka Postpones Local Polls in War-Torn Areas
 ABC News, 22 March 2002. Sri Lanka has postponed local council elections in the war-torn north and east for six months because of fears not enough polling stations can be set up, state media said on Friday... Back to the top
Canadian Secretary of State for Asia to visit Lanka
 Ranmali Wijesuriya in Colombo, SLT 9.30 a.m Friday 22 March. Canada's Secretary of State for Asia and Pacific, David Kilgour, MP will be on an official visit to Sri Lanka from March 25th to 28th... Back to the top
UNF nets huge win in local body polls
 Gulf-News, 22 March 2002. The ruling United National Front (UNF) swept the local government elections held on Wednesday, winning all but five of the 222 councils... Back to the top
Sri Lanka expects budget reforms
 BBC South Asia, Thursday, 21 March, 2002, 18:26 GMT . It is expected that the government, which has signed an unpopular peace deal with Tamil Tigers rebels, will set a 3.7% economy growth target for 2002... Back to the top
Marxist JVP cries foul
 Gulf-New, 22 March 2002. The Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP, People's Liberation Front) yesterday cried foul about alleged malpractices at Wednesday's local polls, but said its party was happy that it had been able to win control of one council for the first time in history and increase its number of members in the councils... Back to the top
Sri Lanka's ruling party sweeps local polls
 The Hindustan Times, Colombo, March 21 . Sri Lanka's ruling party won an unprecedented landslide victory in local elections, taking 217 councils out of the 222 that went to the polls, official results showed Thursday... Back to the top
Sri Lanka - Tiger Territory
 Dateline-SBS, 22 March 2002. For the last 20 years, the Tamil Tigers have fought to establish a separate state on the island nation of Sri Lanka... Back to the top
Cricket - Thumbs up from ICC match umpires for TV technology trial
 Yahoo India, 22 March 2002. Cricket's newly appointed elite panel of international match umpires has backed the International Cricket Council's (ICC's) plan to experiment with extended television technology to aid umpiring decisions... Back to the top
North East polls on September 25
 Daily News, Friday, 22 March 2002. The Local Government elections in the North and East, including Ampara district have been postponed to September 25 by Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake... Back to the top
Will Peace Ever Return to Paradise
 The Japan Times Online, Tuesday, March 19, 2001. COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Foreign visitors to Sri Lanka have been singing its praises since the days of Marco Polo... Back to the top
Explosion destroys Vavuniya ammo dump
 Tamilnet, 21 March 2002. An ammunition dump of the Sri Lanka army exploded Wednesday evening in Vavuniya, military sources in the northern border town said... Back to the top
Sri Lankan Govt Considers Venue For Peace Talks
 Nothern Light, Wednesday, March 20, 2002 10:38 PM EST . COLOMBO, Mar 21, 2002 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- The Sri Lankan government is considering a venue for preliminary talks with separatist Tamil Tiger rebels on the proposed peace negotiations, the state-run Daily News said on Thursday... Back to the top
Cricket - Big match parades old school ties
 Yahoo India, 21 MARCH 2002. Cricket, ugly ties and Russian strippers -- the Old Boy school network is alive and well in Sri Lanka and experiencing a feeding frenzy with the normal social and business rivalry between alumni of the two best-known schools knocked into overdrive by a cricket match... Back to the top
Sri Lanka Wants to Buy Indian Wheat Through 5 MNCs
 Yahoo India, march 21. India has agreed to extend a 15 year creditline to Sri Lanka for export of 0.3 million tonnes of wheat annually, but Colombo has put a condition that the grains be routed through 5 multinational companies... Back to the top
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