By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The New York based Human rights Watch said , In the midst of an upsurge in violence, that killed many in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled areas the rebel group recently organized the North East Secretariat on Human Rights (NESHOR), a body intended to promote respect for human rights and it was essential that they quickly demonstrated their effectiveness in protecting human rights.
The statement came immediately after the LTTE allegedly killed eight Karuna supporters near the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo.
Killers came to Colombo under Ranil's security relaxation, investigations show
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The Kollupitiya Suicide Bomber, who was sent to Colombo by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was one of the walking bombs among several sent by the terrorist group as soon as the Ranil Wickremesinghe government lifted all road blocks following signing of the ceasefire agreement with LTTE Supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran, sources close to intelligence services said.
But UNP spokesman Ravindra Randeniya and UNP Deputy Secretary General Tissa Attanayaka blamed the government and the weakening of the peace process as causes for the explosion of the bomb at Kollupitiya. Both spokesmen of the party refrained from condemning the blast.
Accomplice says suicide bombing planned by Tamil Tigers
 Thiagaraja Jeyarani (26) who blew herself up at Kollupitiya |
A woman accomplice of the suicide bomber, Jeyarani who accompanied the walking bomb to Minister Douglas Devananda’s office has confessed to the Police and a magistrate who saw her alone that the Colombo suicide blast , July 7, was planned by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) .
The accomplice, named Sathya Leela Selvakumar (29) was earlier employed by Minister Douglas Devananda and terminated , police sources said. She was arrested immediately after the Jeyarani blew herself up killing four offices of the Kollupitiya Police and herself.
UNP fails to condemn suicide blast in two statements
 Thiagaraja Jeyarani ( Age - 26) A Tamil Tiger suicide bomber blew herself up inside a police station in the Sri Lankan capital on July 7 2004. |
The United National Party, the country’s main parliamentary opposition failed to condemn the cowardly act of the suicide bombing in two of its well thought out statements issued to the media after the suicide bomb blast at Colombo’s Kollupitiya Police station , July 7.
On behalf of the United National Party two statements were issued on the same day of the tragedy that ended four lives of police officers and the woman suicide bomber herself, but both statements failed to condemn the act.
To kidnap children LTTE assaulting parents and burning houses says AI
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
"With today's news of a suicide bombing in Colombo, the fact that the Tamil Tigers have started a new wave of child recruitment is alarming," said Amnesty International.
The London based award winning human rights group warned, "If the armed conflict were to resume, these children would likely be among the first to die."
Woman suicide bomber explodes herself in Kollupitiya Police killing herself and four Policemen
 Prabhakaran honored “Suicides Bombers” few days before the blast. |
A suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide bomber detonated herself inside one of the biggest Police stations in the capital city of Colombo at Kollupitiya at least killing four police officers and herself and injuring scores of other police officers and civilians.
The suspected woman cadre of the LTTE, was trying to enter, a government Ministry, in which Douglas Devananda, a rival Tamil minister of the LTTE runs his office. Security officers prevented her from entering the Ministry building when she reportedly refused to undergo a physical security check . The police who suspected took her to the adjacent Kollupitiya Police station to be questioned and examined where she detonated herself making severe damages to the concrete building of the police station and killing many police officers.
The LTTE for the first time ask for protection from the Sri Lanka police for fear of Karuna
 Pottuamman presenting a musical album to Prabhakaran at the Balck Tiger Day. |
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had requested tight security from the Sri Lanka police at the Black Tiger day celebrations in Trincomalee ,from Sri Lanka Police for the first time in history for fear of attack by Karuna Amman forces in the East.
The LTTE website, Tamil Net revealed that the Police provided such security for the event held at Sivakovilady grounds in Trincomalee.
Two Tigers die, two others injured on Black Tiger Day in East
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The commemoration festivals for the world’s biggest suicide squad, the Black Tigers organized by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) dawned with ominous signs for them in Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province where two of the LTTE’s activists including the rebel group’s Batticaloa political Division head were killed in two separate incidents, political sources in Batticaloa said.
According to reports from Batticaloa, the LTTE political division head for Batticaloa town, Senathy and a senior cadre of the LTTE, Ravi were killed in these separate incidents related to the Black Tiger Day the rebel group commemorated, July 5, all over Sri Lanka’s Eastern and Northern Provinces. Defying the requests of the United States and other Western nations to disband the squad of walking bombs the LTTE was celebrating the day to encourage others to join the world’s largest suicide squad.
Prabhakaran and Pottuamman planned Rajiv killing over protests of Mahattaya and Bala
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The spokesperson for Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Karuna Group), Maran in an interview with a London broadcasting station confirmed that LTTE Supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran and his Spy Chief Pottu Amman conspired and planned to kill former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and revealed for the first time that it was done over the protests of the then Deputy leader of the LTTE Mahendraraja Mahattaya and the current advisor of the group, Anton Balasingham.
He said later Mahattaya , was brutally killed by Prabhakaran after being accused of being a spy for India’s Research and Analysis Wing , the state intelligence agency
Surpem Court refuses to accept medical certificate of S.B.Dissanayake
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
A five judge panel of the Supreme Court refused to accept a medical certificate produced by the lawyer of S. B. Dissanayake and severely warned former Minister of Agriculture and United National Party’s National Organizer that the court would proceed without his presence if he ever attempts a similar method when the contempt of court case is taken up before them next time.
The Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva reprimanded Dissanayaka when the case was taken up July 1 before a panel of five Supreme Court Judges including himself and Justices Dr. Shirani Bandaranaike, T. B. Weerassoriya, Nimal Dissanayake and Raja Fernando. All justices were unanimous that the medical certificate submitted by Dissanayake should not be accepted. The Chief Justice said it was a very serious matter not to be present in the courts.
Eric Solheim comes with empty hands from Kilinochchi
 Norway’s Special Envoy Eric Solheim (front) |
The two-hour meeting between Norway’s Special Envoy Eric Solheim and Liberation Tiger’s of Tamil Eelam political head S. Paramu Thamilselvan in the Tiger stronghold of Kilinochchi ended producing no results in restoring the stalled peace talks of Sri Lanka.
The LTTE this time attached one more excuse, the allegation that their renegade leader Colonel Karuna Amman’s havoc caused to the Ceasefire with the help of the Sri Lanka Army in the Eastern Province as a reason of not starting the peace talks between them and the Government of Sri Lanka.
Human Rights Watch says LTTE abducting all children released by Karuna
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The London based Human Rights Watch, accused Sri Lanka’s Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of waging an intensified campaign to abduct children to be recruited as child soldiers and said they were trying to re-recruit all children released by Colonel Karuna Amman during the last three weeks in the Eastern Province.
In a June 29 statement issued from London the leading human rights organization of the world quoted one of its workers as saying that the Tamil Tigers were demonstrating absolute disregard for the most vulnerable part of the population it claimed to represent.
JVP to continue with the case to quash Ranil Prabhakaran pact
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The junior partner of Sri Lanka’s ruling coalition, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna has decided to continue with its case filed at the country’s Appeals Courts requesting the judges to issue a writ of certiorari to quash the agreement signed between former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Supremo, Velupillai Prabhakaran, it was revealed when the case was taken up , June 28 in Colombo.
To proceed with the case, the lawyers representing the JVP requested the three presiding judges to include the present members of the cabinet also as respondents in the case.
Pistol gang kills Plote member
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) “pistol gang” assassin shot and killed a political opponent of the People’s Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), security sources in Vavuniya said.
The victim was K. Devaraj of the Pattakadu area of Vavuniya according to same sources. Vavuniya has become an area where , LTTE assassins often come, kill and escape to the LTTE held areas undetected for the last many years. The assassinations of Tamil civilians increased ever since the LTTE became the only group who could possess arms under the Cease Fire agreement signed between former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran.
JHU, TNA and UNP to take over parliamentary power says Tamilnet
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The rebel Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) Member of Parliament Venerable Aparekke Punnananda Thero in a letter sent to a party leader Uduwe Dhammaloka Thero asked why an organizing meeting of the ‘protest foot march’ of the JHU was held in the house of the former UNP Minister of Fisheries , Mahinda Wijesekera.
Venerable Punnananda in his letter said the meeting had been held in the former UNP minister and present member of parliament Mahinda Wijesekera , June 24.
Enjoining Order on JHU MP extended until 29th
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The Colombo District Court extended its earlier enjoining order restraining Jathika Hela Urumaya member Buddhist monk, Akmeemna Dayaratne from functioning as a Member of Parliament until June 29 Tuesday, when the case was taken up June 25.
The order was sequel to an application by President’s Counsel Wijedasa Rajapakse to extend the Enjoining order.
LTTE to love and cherish their suicide bombers-Black Tigers
 Moments before the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Under the dress the Black Tiger woman assassin wearing glasses wore the suicide kit. |
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), despite international pressure to give up terrorism and disband the Black Tigers, the world’s largest squad of suicide bombers, will hold “Black Tigers Day”, July 5, to lionize the dead suicide bombers and inspire more children and young men among Tamils to join the squad in the country’s Northern and Eastern provinces.
The Tamil Tigers are planning to celebrate the “The Black Tiger Day” in the midst of intelligence reports that hundreds of them had arrived in the capital city of Colombo, ever since former Prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe lifted all Police embargos in the capital city after signing a ceasefire agreement with LTTE Supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran.
USA to continue all trade agreements with Kumaratunga Govt.
 U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, right, meets with Sri Lanka's Minister of Trade, Commerce, and Consumer Affairs Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, left, in Washington. (photo by: Evan Vucci) |
The United States trade representative Robert B. Zoellick assured Sri Lanka’s visiting Minister of Trade, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Jeyaraj Fernandopulle that the US would continue the process of Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), which it signed with the former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, with President Kumaratunga’s government also to its fullest extent.
Trade Minister Fernandopulle said, that the United National Party had spread the story that the United States would cancel the agreement after the fall of the UNF government but the US Trade representative assured him that the US would continue with the process with Sri Lanka’s current administration.
In first provincial election violence one dies and another injured
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The first fatal election violence incident of the on going Provincial Council election occurred in the Ratnapura District when suspected opposition UNP supporters lobbed a hand bomb at participants of a meeting of the ruling party candidate killing one and seriously injuring another.
District police sources said, United People Freedom Alliance (UPFA) supporter A. G. Ananda Perera instantly died when a bomb was lobbed at some supporters of the ruling party’s Chief Minister candidate Mohan Ellawela.
Prime Minister promises majority while Hakeem negotiating to join
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Amidst new assurances by the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) to support the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga by joining it Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa claimed that the government would show a clear majority in the parliament after July 20.
While the Prime Minister addressing a meeting at Anuradhapura did not name any political group who would support the government afresh aiding the currently minority government to gain a clear majority, he said there were many opposition Members of Parliament who loved the country and the government to go forward assuring the forward march of the nation.
New Maha Nayaka of Malwatte appointed unanimously
 The Most Venerable Thibbotuwawe Siddhartha Sri Sumangala Mahanayaka Of the Malwatte Chapter of the Siyam Maha Nikaya |
The Karaka Sangha Sabha, the supreme executive council of Buddhist monks, of Sri Lanka’s foremost Buddhist Sect, the Malwatte Chapter of the Siyam Maha Nikaya unanimously appointed the Most Venerable Thibbotuwawe Siddhartha Sri Sumangala (60) as the 26th Maha Nayaka of the Malwatte chapter.
Appointed June 20 to the highest Buddhist ecclesiastical position of the island nation’s largest and most influential Buddhist order of monks the amiable new Maha Nayaka was already holding the senior most position of the Anunanayka of the Malwatte chapter and the Chief incumbent of the historic Ridi Maha Vihara in the Kurunegala District.
LTTE reiterates army is sheltering renegade leader Karuna
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) reiterated its charge that the Sri Lanka Army was sheltering their renegade former military commander Col. Karuna Amman “to use him” against the Tamil separatist group.
The LTTE operated news website the Tamil Net quoting their Ampara-Batticaloa Special commander Ramesh at a press conference at Thenagam in Kokkadicholai in the internecine war torn Eastern Province between the Wanni forces of Prabhakaran and LTTE renegade forces of Eastern Province led by Karuna reportedly said, "If the Sri Lanka government tries to wage war against us making use of Karuna, there will be serious repercussions and we will not hesitate to take appropriate action,"
Election of the new Maha Nayaka of Malwatte chapter
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Anunayaka Thero of the Malwatte Chapter , the Most Venerable Thibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala is the most likely candidate to succeed the office of the late Malwatte Maha Nayaka the Most Venerable Rambukwelle Sri Vipassi , sources close to Siyam Nikaya said.
The Chief incumbent of the historic Ridi Vihara in Kurunegala District, the Maha Thero, who is the senior-most Anunayaka of the Malwatte chapter , was elected to the office in 1998.
Speaker Lokubandara admits he has lost control of Parliament
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The Speaker of Sri Lanka’s parliament , W.J.M. Lokubandara admitted that he has lost control, of the proceedings of the House and said a handful of parliamentarians were behaving as cheaters or criminals (thakkadi) and terrorists in the parliament.
Modeled after the same named office in the Westminster Parliament of the United Kingdom, which is considered the mother Parliament, usually the Speaker is considered as the protector of all parliamentarians, regardless of party politics and the office holder controls the Parliament most of the time not by wielding power but by being impartial and winning the respect of both sides of the House that tends all members to obey his orders.
"Nine monks of JHU brought insults and ridicule for 20,000 others"
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Venerable Elle Gunawansa Thero, a leader of the Patriotic National Movement said the activities of nine Buddhist monks of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), brought insults and ridicule to 20,000 other Buddhist monks of the island nation.
The JHU is the first political party in Sri Lanka to be headed by Buddhist monks and is having nine MP’s in the present Sri Lanka Parliament.A strong critic of Buddhist monks contesting elections from the beginning Venerable Gunawansa said that Buddha had preached that monks should frequent only places suitable to them and the recent incidents indicated the politically tense parliament was not a suitable place for monks to enter.
JHU to join LTTE proxy party and UNP to topple government
 "We have now decided not to support this government and jointly work with the combined opposition" said JHU spokesman Uduwe Dhammaloka MP |
The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), the political party headed by Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka, pledged that it would topple the two-months old United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government headed by President Chandrika Kumaratunga by getting together with the united opposition that included the proxy party of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the United National Party (UNP).
JHU spokesman Uduwe Dhammaloka who is a Buddhist monk legislator said his party would join the united opposition to topple the government by changing its former decision to support or oppose the government on an issue-by-issue basis.
Pandemonium in parliament as Speaker disregards court order
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Pandemonium broke out in Sri Lanka Parliament when Speaker W.J.M.Lokubandara called in a replacement Buddhist monk Member of Parliament to be sworn in as a new member disregarding a restraining court order not to allow that Buddhist monk to sit in the parliament.
The scuffle between the government MP’s and Opposition MP’s occurred, June 8, when the allegedly opposition leaning Speaker called in Akmeemana Dayaratna to give oaths disregarding the restraining order of the Colombo District Court preventing the Jathika Hela Urumaya Member from being appointed as a Member of Parliament, eye witnesses said.
EPDP supporter killed and hanged by suspected LTTE assasins
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Tamil Tiger assassins, for a moment turned away from the Karuna loyalists who had been tormenting them for the last few weeks, and returned to the killings of their civilian political opponents, those who worked against their proxy political party . the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) Police Sources in Jaffna said
According to them, a supporter of the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), a coalition partner of the government, was hanged on a branch of a Banyan tree, in front of a Sri Ganesh Hindu Temple, in Nelliady area in the Jaffna peninsula, after killing him by slashing the throat.
World Bank tells LTTE to enter peace talks or lose millions
 World Bank representative Peter Harrold meeting Thamilselvan In Kilinochchi |
The World Bank applied tremendous pressure on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to immediately start the stalled peace negotiations with the Sri Lanka government or to lose millions of dollars the international aid donors were ready to pump in to re-build the war-torn economy of the North and the East .
In a meeting with LTTE’s S. P. Thamilselvan, June 1, the World Bank representative in Sri Lanka told the political head of the rebel group that it was imperative the Tamil Tigers start peace negotiations for the world bank to grant aid for the war torn areas.
Kadirgamar's visit in New Delhi would lead to a new defense agreement
 Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was received very warmly in New Delhi by India’s External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh ,May 31 2004, indicating stronger relations in coming years |
India will strengthen defense cooperation with Sri Lanka said India’s new External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh addressing a joint press briefing with Sri Lankan Foreign Affairs Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar in New Delhi.
Analysts said that the two countries would enter into a new defense agreement and the discussions started by Kadirgamar would eventually lead to such an agreement soon.The new enthusiasm shown by India’s Congress government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is seen by analysts as a new phase between the two South Asian neighbors and a step away from India’s former policy of non-interference in the affairs of the Sri Lanka’s crisis. Kadirgamar is the first foreign minister invited to visit the Indian capital after the new Congress government was formed.
Kumaratunga likely to increase again 2 more cabinet posts for CWC
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Amidst, the main partner of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) writing letters of warning against increasing Ministerial positions in the cabinet the government is likely to increase the number by another two, according to Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) sources in Colombo.
The sources said that it was most likely that President Chandrika Kumaratunga might increase the cabinet posts by another two since Arumugam Thondaman led Indian origin Tamils’ party is strongly contemplating to leave the UNP led opposition coalition and join the government very soon.
UNICEF blamed for delay of release and deaths of child soldiers
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
In one of the most hard hitting reports censuring the Norway managed Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and the work of the local office of the UNICEF the leading human rights organization among the Sri Lankan Tamils, University Teachers Human Rights –Jaffna (UTHR-J) said that a golden opportunity of releasing thousands of child soldiers in the Eastern Province was lost because UNICEF followed the SLMM policy of appeasing Prabhakaran than protecting the lives of the innocent children by not talking to the renegade leader Karuna Amman.
By this utter negligence of children by the UN agency many children were killed when Prabhakaran forces attacked Karuna’s installations and if renegade leader Karuna did not disband troops many more would have been annihilated , said the report pointing an accusing finger to the UN agency.
Missing soldiers retun to the camp
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The two missing soldiers from the Weli Oya Sri Lanka Army camp, Private J.M. Gamini Bandara and Recruit P.P..D. Sarath Gunasena who were missing since May 26 returned to the camp.
The two soldiers who were missing after entering a nearby jungle of Kambiliwewa to cut timber for the construction work.
Two Army soldiers missing from Welioya where LTTE used to kidnap soldiers
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Two soldiers from the Welioya Sri Lanka Army camp who were cutting timber in the Kambiliwewa jungles Wednesday were missing, Defense Ministry authorities complained to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission.
In the past, the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) used to kidnap unarmed Sri Lanka Army soldiers from the same camp while they were engaged in civilian duties.
Colombo's Buddhist and Pali University starts courses in Los Angeles
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka has established its first United States affiliated institution based in Los Angeles.
The head of the Buddhist and Pali College of Los Angeles, Venerable Witiyala Seewali Thero, told this correspondent that the ceremonial opening of the institution will be held, May 30 at the Institute’s campus at 7833 Emerson Place Rosemead California, a suburb of Los Angeles.
Lokubandara accused of aiding and abetting abduction of monk MP
 Venerable Punnananda Thero questioned the Speaker of the House W.J.M. Lokubandara "Is it being law abiding? Is it how you perform your duty?" (photo by:Sena Vidanagama ) |
The rebel Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) parliamentarian Venerable Aparekke Punnananda Thero accused the Speaker of Sri Lanka’s parliament W.J. M. Lokubandara of aiding and abetting the crime of abducting and later making tender his resignation of Venerable Kathaluwe Rathanseeha from the seat of parliament under duress.
Containing very serious accusations of the island nations very first recorded abduction of a parliamentarian the rebel Buddhist monk parliamentarian Aparekke Punnananda Thero in a letter addressed to the accused Speaker of the House W.J.M. Lokubandara said by failing to inform the Police of the arrival of the abducted Thero in the company of the alleged abductors with the letter of resignation at the Parliament following the most publicized abduction of Venerable Rathanaseeha the Speaker aided and abetted the abduction and tendering the letter of resignation under duress from the seat of the parliament .
Muslim party MP s trying to join UPFA Government
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), the controversy ridden Muslim political party of Sri Lanka and close ally of UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe is once again in crisis with some of its parliamentarians threatening to leave the party and join the government .
Amidst serious allegations of its leader Rauf Hakeem having a scandalous love affair with a married Sinhalese woman already a newly appointed SLMC parliamentarian has left the party and crossed over to the government benches . Sources close to the party said that many more would follow suit.
Abducted JHU parliamentarian resigned under duress, say critics
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Amidst serious charges of forced resignation, the Jathika Hela Urumaya Parliamentarian Venerable Kathaluwe Rathanaseeha Thero who was allegedly abducted by his own party Buddhist monks tendered his resignation from his parliamentary seat, sources close to the abducted Member of Parliament said in Colombo.
The other Buddhist monk parliamentarian, Venerable Aparekke Pannananda Thero who together with the abducted Member of Parliament rebelled against the party hierarchy against joining with the proxy party of the Tamil Tigers in the parliament in the election of the UNP candidate W.J.M. Lokubandara as Speaker, said in the House, raising privileges issues, that he has also received death threats from his own party.
Rebel JHU parliamentarian abducted by goons
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Police reports from Colombo said that a Buddhist monk parliamentarian who supports the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government has been abducted, probably to prevent him from voting for the government candidates at the elections of the Deputy Speaker and Deputy Chairman of Committees in the parliament, today (May 18).
This is the first time in the history of Sri Lanka’s parliament since the country’s independence that a parliamentarian has been abducted by alleged political goons to prevent him from voting, in a serious breach of parliamentary privileges.
LTTE changing tune and welcoming India's Sonia Gandhi
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is changing its tune and making welcoming statements for the newly formed regime of Prime Minister designate Sonia Gandhi, in India whose husband, Rajiv Gandhi they assassinated in 1991.
The Tamil Net, official news website of the LTTE quoted one of its senior leaders, V. Balakumaran , of having said , “We hope Indian new Prime Minister would follow a policy with better understanding in our issue. Change could be seen in our vision towards India and Indian vision towards us. We will co-operate to achieve a better understanding between us," .
LTTE announces murder by its Ellalan front organization
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The Tamil Net, official news website of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) announced that Ellalan Force , identified by the US State Department as a front organization of the rebel group has killed, Subramaniam Chandralalith(22) during the early hours of Sunday morning (May 16).
The deceased, a former member of the People’s Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) , abducted with few others was shot dead and his body was later found by the Police. The deceased is the father of two children.
All aid should be stopped if ISGA not accepted says Sampanthan
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The proxy political party of the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka told the Japanese government that if the Sri Lankan government did not accept a proposal by the separatist rebels in Sri Lanka, that had been called a blue print for a future separate state, all international aid to Sri Lanka should be stopped.
While President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s government has openly indicated that it would not accept the proposal of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to grant an interim administration as an initial step for a peace process the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the proxy political party of the Tigers in the parliament requested the visiting Japanese government special envoy Yasusi Akashi to stop all international aid to Sri Lanka if the government refused to accept the proposal.
Interim rule is a blue print for a spearate says kadirgamar
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Sri Lanka’s visiting Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar in Washington D.C. addressing the Brooklyn Institute said that the Interim Self Governing Authority proposed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eeelam (LTTE) was a blue print for a future separate state and it would be very difficult for any sovereign government to accept the proposal.
During the talk the Foreign Minister also said that the Norwegian facilitators in the peace process had been encouraged to play a lower profile than during the former regime due to suspicions and resentments created in the Sri Lankan society. The internationalization of the Sri Lankan issue also should not go too far, he warned..
Uduwe Dhammaloka's controversial trip to Japan
 The Rev. Banagala Upatissa visiting LTTE strategist and negotiator and his wife, Anton and Adele Balasingham at Prince Hotel in Hakone Japan in an effort to support Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe last year (photo by: Sri Lanka Peace Secretariat) |
The allegedly most politicized Sri Lankan Buddhist Temple in the world outside Sri Lanka, Lankaji Temple in Japan added more controversy to its Sri Lankan party politics by inviting the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) parliamentarian, the Rev. Uduwe Dhammaloka as the chief guest of its Vesak day celebrations.
The Rev. Banagala Upatissa, the Chief of the Japanese Temple, President of the Sri Lanka Maha Bodhi Society, close ally of UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and friend of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) strategist and negotiator Anton Balasingham, inviting his past political friend Rev. Uduwe Dhammaloka of the JHU has not gone unnoticed by Sri Lankan newspapers. The trip of Rev. Uduwe Dhammaloka to Japan became a prominent news item in the most popular Sinhalese daily, the Divaina.
DJV welcomes negotiations but rejects interim rule for North and East
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The Patriotic National Movement that helped the ruling People’s Alliance government into power said although they strongly supported a negotiated settlement of Sri Lanka’s national problem they totally rejected the proposal for an Interim Self Governing Authority for the island’s North and the East
The Desha Hithaishi Jathika Viyaparaya (DJV) or the Patriotic National Movement, the broad mass organization of intellectuals, Buddhist Monks, students, farmers and working class that was instrumental in putting the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) in to power said in a statement that it was all out for a negotiated settlement of the national problem of Sri Lanka, provided that the settlement did not harm national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country even by a fraction.
Two top LTTE spies were killed to avenge an assasination
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The internal Tamil Tiger conflict still raging between the Karuna and Prabhakaran factions in the Eastern Province resulted in the killing of two top intelligence officials of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), security sources in the Eastern Province said.
According to these sources , Eastern Province’s top LTTE intelligence man Sivanadan Murali alias Pahalavan and Vathanan were shot dead during the afternoon of May 6 at Thannamunai about 9 kilometers North West of Batticaloa.
Sampanthan requested the EU to stop aid to Sri Lanka
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
R. Sampanthan, leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the proxy political party of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said that a delegation of his party had requested the European Union to bring pressure on the Sri Lanka government to grant an Interim Administration for the Northern and Eastern Provinces by stopping aid to Sri Lanka
Sampanthan revealed about his request to the EU in an interview held with the Sandeshaya, the Sinhalese program of the BBC.
Laymen of SU ousted Ellawala Mehananda says Monk
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The rebel parliamentarian of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) Venerable Aparekke Pannananda Thero in a letter addressed to the hierarchy of the party lodged his vehement protest against the changing of the leadership of the parliamentary group from the scholar monk Venerable Ellawala Medhananda Thero to Athureliye Rathana Thero and accused lay leaders of the Sihala Urumaya of manipulating the monk’s party inappropriately .
In a letter sent to another leader of the JHU, Venerable Uduwe Dhammaloka of the Asapuwa of the Cinnamon Gardens in Colombo the rebel parliamentarian charged that Venerable Rathana of the Sihala Urumaya had been promoted as the leader of the bhikku’s parliamentary group after demoting Venerable Ellawala Medhananda, a more erudite monk who had been holding that position from the first day they entered the parliament according to the whims and fancies of the some lay leaders of the Sihala Urumaya.
SB before Supreme Court on May 7
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
S.B. Dissanayaka , the brain of the UNP political strategies and controversial former cabinet Minister will be brought before the nation’s highest judiciary , the Supreme Court making him to show cause why he should not be punished for contempt of court.
A three panel judges of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva assisted by Justice Asoka de Silva and Justice Raja Fernando will hear the case against Dissanayaka beginning May 7
LTTE demands interim government before peace talks
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has reiterated that the government should establish an interim government under the rebel group as a pre-condition to establish peace talks with the present government.
The LTTE’s political head S. Thamilselvan made the announcement after Norway’s Special envoy Eric Solheim and his delegation met him in Kilinochchi. carrying the message of the government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga that the government was prepared to continue with the peace talks.
Ranil and Mahinda to fight for JHU monk
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Both former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the controversial Minister in Ranil Wickremesinghe’s former government Mahinda Wijesekera have come to the defense of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), the political party of the Buddhist monks in parliament, the BBC’s Sinhala service Sandeshaya, announced.
There were allegations that JHU’ s election campaign was financed by sources close to the United National Party (UNP) but the allegations have been denied earlier.
Monks need not enter parliament to rule, says Malwatte Mahanayaka
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Since time immemorial the Buddhist monks of this country have been involved in counseling kings and ministers as how to run the country. Apart from that , we definitely need not get ourselves in to the Parliament to rule the nation, said the Mahanayaka of Malwatte , the Most Venerable Rambukwelle Sri Vipassi, Thero addressing the newly sworn in Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Ministers of the Kumaratunga cabinet
The terse statement of the Malwatte Mahanayaka Thero is considered to be a strong disapproval of him against Buddhist monks contesting elections and entering the Sri Lanka Parliament
Monks deny they were abducted and say hiding from goons
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Allegedly under the direct influence of the United National Party and the owners of the Upali newspapers Ltd. The Sunday Island newspaper charged in an editorial that the two rebel monks of the Jathika Hela Urumaya were abducted by the government party.
Despite the editorial, the two rebel parliamentarians , the Most Venerable Aparekke Pannananda, the chief Sangha Nayaka of the Southern Sri Lanka and Venerable Kathaluwe Rathanaseeha in a joint statement said they were abducted by nobody and the newspaper editorials were all fabrications.
Nalin says the monks were only serving their masters
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The response of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) in joining the pro-Tamil Tigers was expected since the Buddhist monk parliamentarian’s election campaigns were financed by anti-national elements and the monks had to serve their masters said Professor Nalin de Silva in an interview with this correspondent.
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“The JHU would further crumble under pressure and there are already divisions in their ranks.”" |
Professor Nalin de Silva, university teacher and head of the national think tank “Jathika Chintana Parshadaya” was analyzing the Buddhist monks’ attitude of the JHU at the recently concluded Speaker’s election in the Sri Lanka parliament when the JHU monks openly joined the proxy party of the Tamil Tigers to vote for the UNP candidate W.J.M. Lokubandara, against whom one of the voting monks, Omalpe Sobhitha held a ‘fast unto death’ before the elections. Lokubandara was the Minister of Buddhist Affairs when Sobhitha was holding a “fast unto death” against him. Rathana was one of the organizers of the fast.
JHU reneged their promises and joined hands with LTTE
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
“When the JHU monks (MPs) met the President they asked the President not to have dealings with the minority parties and pledged to support the Freedom Alliance in any critical situation. This promise was also made at the Sacred Dalada Maligawa. These promises were broken with the least compunction. This could be well construed as a part of a conspiracy to oust the UPFA from power.” said the editorial of the latest issue of the Daily News analyzing the about turn of the Jathika Hela Urumaya Buddhist monk parliamentarians who joined the Tamil Tiger backed TNA to defeat the government candidate at the recently concluded election of the Speaker of the Sri Lanka parliament.
Commenting further on the deception of the Buddhist monk parliamentarians the editorial said, “Whither truthfulness? Where are the hallowed principles of the JHU, which crusades for value-based politics? What is the difference between the run-of-the-mill political party and the JHU? Isn't the JHU as devious and dishonourable as those parties, which thrive on political opportunism? It is no coincidence that some former UNF Ministers were seen speaking to the JHU members.
Lokubandara becomes Speaker with Tamil Tiger and Bhikku support
 Opposition candidate W.J.M. Lokubandara votes for the election of the speaker (photo by: Sena Vidanagama) |
With the support of ironic forces combined together like the Tamil Tigers backed Members of Parliament and the Buddhist Monk MP’s of the Jathika Hela Urumaya Opposition candidate W.J.M.Lokubandara became the Speaker of Sri Lanka’s Parliament giving the new minority government of the country a crushing blow
With two of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) monks voting with the Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam (LTTE) backed Tamil MP’s , the opposition candidate W.J.M.Lokubandara won the prestigious Speaker’s post of Sri Lanka parliament by obtaining 110 votes .against his rival and government’s nominee D.E.W. Gunasekera who obtained 109 votes in an election marred by unprecedented pandemonium in the island republic’s legislature.
Lokubandara seeks help of JHU to become Speaker
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The United National Party has sought the assistance of the Jathika Hela Urumaya to get its candidate and former Buddhasasana Minister W.J.M. Lokubandara get elected to the prestigious position of Speaker
The United National Party is believed to be putting its fullest effort to get Lokubandara elected as the Speaker of the House of Representative with the help of the Buddhist monk Members of Parliament as a first step towards their end of forming a government with the LTTE backed Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) under the strict directions of former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Prabhakaran Forces killed many prisoners of war in the East
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Hundreds of Karuna faction soldiers who surrendered to Prabhakaran’s forces from Wanni are believed to have been killed during the initial stages of the fratricidal war between the two factions of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Sources in the Eastern Province said dead bodies of Tamil soldiers in uniforms whose hands were tied to their backs were found in Vakarai by the people who visited the area to inspect any possible damage to their houses .
Arjuna issue alleges JHU connected with cricket corruption
 Arjuna Ranatunga receiving the world cup trophy from Pakistan President Benazir Bhutto : He was refused the sports portfolio on the influence of JHU , the political party of the Buddhist monks, it was alleged |
Did the Bhikku MP’s of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) put forward any conditions to the UNFA government other than Sinhala Buddhist issues before promising to lend their support in the Parliament to the minority government? Or were there other conditions more than that meets the eye –especially issues related to corruption taking place in Sri Lanka’s cricket game similar to Mapitigama Buddharakkhitha’s connections with shipping business after 1956? The issue has been raised when Sri Lanka’s former World Cup winning Cricket Captain Arjuna Ranatunga refused to take oaths as a new Deputy Minister of the UNFA government and resigned as the youth organizer of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party for Kotte electorate and decided to remain only as a back bencher of the government.
Sources close to the former Cricket Captain said, that a corrupt cricket official’s mother was a leading financer of the JHU.and certainly, not making Arjuna Ranatunga the Sports Minister of the new government was one of the conditions of the Buddhist monks, under the influence of the ‘Cricket Mom’.
UNFA victory resembles 1956 change and done by children of the same
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
In an interview with Colombo’s Sunday Observer newspaper, the Leader of Mahajana Eksath Peramuna and UNFA government’s Urban Development and Water Supply Minister, Dinesh Gunawardena said, the recent election victory of his government resembled the historical election victory of the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna of 1956 in which the working classes united with the rural masses for a common man’s government.
The newspaper quoted him as saying , “ In a way the successful victory of the Freedom Alliance is very much similar to the 1956 victory led by late S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike along with my late father Philip Gunawardena. Once again the "Puncha Maha Balawegaya" and the youth and students of our country in unity brought about this awakening change. My party and I contributed positively for its success.”
Jehan Perera needs tution in arithmetic, says columnist
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Jehan Perera, who wears many NGO hats in Sri Lanka, as the Media Director of the National Peace Council, Director of PAFFREL, an organization for election monitoring and a columnist for a LTTE controlled, Eelamnation website is once again in the news.
Popular Sunday Times columnist Rajpal Abeynayake in his column last week said that Jehan Perera, should go back to the United States where he studied to learn his arithmetic. Rajpal Abeynayaka’s column was responding to a pro-UNP column Jehan Perera had written just after the Sri Lanka Parliamentary General Elections.
UNF and Ranil disgrace their own nominee to UN
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Ranil Wickremesinghe government’s official nominee, to the prestigious position now held by Kofi Annan, the United Nation’s Secretary General was disgraced by his own party, when the same leadership changed his mind and failed to appoint him as a national list MP of the United National Front in the Sri Lanka Parliament.
The fall of Tyronne Fernando came together, as Lakshman Kadirgamar who was criticized by him severely for carrying on an international campaign with India to ban Tamil Tigers once again became Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister, with the routing of Fernando’s party at the last general Elections.
31 Ministers took oaths as Sri Lanka Cabinet
 (photo by:Eranga Jayawardena ) |
Thirty one new cabinet ministers took oaths at the President’s House in Colombo while the government’s most important partner, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) kept away from the oath taking ceremony. The JVP ministers are expected to take their oaths separately.
The most important ministry, next to the portfolio of Prime minister, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs went to the President’s Foreign Affairs advisor, Lakshman Kadirgamar and the powerful Ministry of Finance went to Dr. Sarath Amunugama. President’s brother Anura Bandaranaike took the Ministry of Torism and investment Promotion
Ranil still wants to govern with Tamil National Alliance
 (photo by; David Gray ) |
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who has been given a crushing defeat by the majority Sinhala voters at the recently concluded general elections had been engaged in several rounds of talks to form the new government with the help of the Tamil National Alliance, political sources in Colombo said.
Sources said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had not only contacted the Tamil political parties in this regard but even some pro-UNP Buddhist monks to get the help of certain sections of the monks elected under the banner of the Jathika Hela Urumaya ( JHU).
Crushing defeat for Ranil Wickremesinghe, early results show
 (photo by: Anuruddha Lokuhapuarachchi ) |
Early results so far released by Sri Lanka’s Commissioner of Elections indicate that more than 75 percent of the 12 million registered voters of the island republic had given a humiliating defeat to the country’s ruling Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his United National Front coalition and granted an early lead over the ruling party to the newly formed alliance of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP).
If a government is formed by the new coalition led by President Chandrika Kumaratunga it would be a fresh start for the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna , that had been brutally crushed twice in its short history since 1971 to actually hold office and govern for the first time.
MP in Canberra Parliament attacks LTTE for murder in elections
 Mr Don Randall MP |
An influential Australian parliamentarian addressing the Federal House of Representatives in Canberra charged the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of Sri Lanka had in the most undemocratic way assassinated, shot and wounded opposing candidates and election officials in an effort to scare them from electoral involvement or just simply to eliminate them during the election campaign that led to today’s general elections.
Don Randall, Chairman of the Australia-Sri Lanka Friendship group in the Australian Federal parliament in a hard-hitting speech before the House described the recent speech of pro-Tamil terrorist Member of Parliament attacking Sri Lanka for calling the current general elections as a “sordid and obsequious grab for the extremist Tamil Tigers in his very marginal electorate.”
PAFFREL election monitors are supporters of UNP-LTTE
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Sri Lanka’s PAFFREL organization, whose members have been allowed to monitor elections today, officially sanctioned by the Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayaka, as independent election monitors is headed by extremely bias individuals like pro-UNP Executive Directoe Kigsley Rodrigo and alleged LTTE supporter Jehan Perera , political parties and other commentators have complained.
Jehan Perera , who writes a regular column for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam controlled website ,Eelannation, that promotes separatism openly, has attacked PAFFRE:’s critics through his column published in the Tiger website.
Human rights group accuses Intl' community of helping LTTE
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
A leading human rights group among the Tamils said that Tamil Tigers recent statement threatening to wipe out the group’s dissidents expressed Velupillai Pillai Prabhakaran’s complete disregard for human rights and international law. But, the statement said the international community and Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM)unfortunately reacted to that with total silence.
The group charged, that this silence made the international community and the Norway led monitors passive accomplices of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE), enabling the LTTE to carry out its brutal threats unhindered.
UNP's imagined support from Karuna described as last straw of drowning man
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Opposition political commentators in Colombo described the false statement by the Ranil Wickremesinghe led United National Front (UNF) of receiving assurances of the renegade Karuna faction of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as one last straw of a desperate man drowning in Sri Lanka’s turbulent political waters.
The United National Front announced Karuna’s support at the coming general elections but the Karuna faction of the LTTE has denied any support to the ruling political party.
Ranil falsely claims Prabhakaran committed to peace
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, praised the Supremo of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Velupillai Prabhakaran as a man committed to peace in a BBC interview but even before the news was broadcast by the radio suspected LTTE gunmen shot and injured a University teacher of the Eastern University for supporting an opposing faction of the Tamil group against Prabhakaran .
The obvious false statement of the Prime Minister came not only within few hours after the alleged shooting by the Tamil Tigers of the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture of the Eastern University, Dr. T. Thiruchelvam, who is now admitted in the Batticaloa General Hospital but also days after Wickremesinghe’s own UNF candidate, Sinnathamby Sunderam Pillai and an EPDP election worker were gunned down by the Tamil Tiger assassins also in the same province
Karuna orders the closure of Prabhakaran law courts
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The renegade Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) military commander Col. Karuna ordered the closure of the “Eelam judicial Court” conducted at Pattipalai, Batticaloa in a further rejection of authority by the Wanni leadership of the Tamil rebel group.
T. Chandrasekera of the island’s popular daily, the Divaina reported that the rebel of the Tamil rebel group. Karuna Amman made the order to take effect immediately from March 23 and immediately the court house was closed down and all property stored in the court as evidence material belonging to citizens of the area were handed over to the Sri Lanka government’s Kokadicholai Provincial Secretary’s office to be distributed among the owners.
Karuna orders prohibition of relations with Wanni
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Renegade Tamil Tiger Commander, Col. Karuna imposed a prohibition of all dealings with the Wanni leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by any individual in the Eastern Province yesterday while a pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance candidate Nadarajah Raviraj threatened Karuna that his regionalism would be properly replied to by the Ampara-Batticaloa Tamil people in the coming elections.
Colonel Karuna’s censure ordering people in the East to stop any relationship with the Wanni leadership, meaning Tamil Tiger Supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran and his immediate associates like Spy Chief Pottuamman, and political commissar Thamilchelvan etc. came in the Tamil newspaper Thamil Alai, a pro-Karuna newspaper published in Kokadicholai, near Batticaloa, in the area under his control.
Balasingham reveals the betrayals of UNP leaders
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
In a London interview to attack Tamil renegade leader Karuna, the main peace negotiator of the Tamil Tigers, Anton Balasingham revealed they recruited rebels for a separatist army making use of a Ceasefire with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and former President Ranasinghe Premadasa once wanted to trade Northern Province by granting it a full separate state while keeping Eastern Province for Sri Lanka.
In a front-page interview published as the lead story in the main organ of the Tamil Tigers, the London based Tamil Guardian, the rebel group’s chief negotiator Anton Balasingham said that the troops, now under the renegade leader Karuna were recruited during the Ceasefire between Prabhakaran and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Balasingham also handles the international operations of the LTTE from London, although the UK government has banned the rebel group as a terrorist organization.
Karuna warnts new MOU with Chandrika and LTTE warns against it
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The renegade leader of the breakaway faction of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE) Col. Karuna, and his new Tiger faction of the Tamil guerillas have decided to approach , Sri Lanka’s executive President Chandrika Kumaratunga to sign a fresh Ceasefire Agreement with them to avoid future military clashes with the Sri Lankan security forces , reports from Colombo said.
Meanwhile, LTTE’s Political Section Head in Wanni at a press conference severely warned the Sri Lanka government not to have any dealings with the breakaway Eastern faction of the LTTE.
Erik Solheim to make peace among warring Tiger factions
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Erik Solheim the Special envoy of Norway and close friend of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eeelam (LTTE) Supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran will fly to Sri Lanka to resolve the conflict between the Tamil Tiger leader and the group’s renegade Eastern military leader Col. Karuna, political sources IN Colombo reported.
Both Erik Solheim and the Norwegian Embassy have been attempting to make peace between both factions although resolving factional quarrels among the LTTE has not been part of the mandate given to Norway , in regard to the peace process in Sri Lanka. Sources said, in fact, they were appointed to facilitate the peace process between the government of Sri Lanka and the rebel group LTTE.
Ranil blamed for not using LTTE division for the nation
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Without making use of the latest division in the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) favorably for the national interests of Sri Lanka to restore peace in the island nation, the country’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Norway were more interested in mending fences between the two divided factions charged the Patriotic National Movement (PNM) in a statement issued to the press.
The statement signed by Venerable Elle Gunawansa, Venerable Dr. Dambara Amila, Dr. Gunadasa Amerasekara, Piyal Parakrama and Dr. Chandana Abeyratne for the PNM said that the division between the two factions should have been favorably utilized by any statesman for the benefit of the nation. Instead , what was now happening was the country’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Norwegian Ceasefire Monitors were doing their best to make peace between the two divided factions completely forgetting the national interests of the country.
Prabhakaran a lame duck and cannot start war, says Karuna
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
In an exclusive interview published in the popular Sinhala daily “Divaina” the renegade Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader Col.Karuna said that since the majority of soldiers of LTTE’s armed forces were under his command in the Eastern Province, LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran had been turned in to a lame duck.
He did not have a dog’s chance of starting another war, he claimed. “Therefore”, he said, “none of his commands regarding the Eastern Province would ever be implemented under any circumstances.”
Karuna and Prabhakaran now poised for dangerous clash
 Head of the Eastern faction of the Tamil Tiger rebels Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan, also known as Karuna, right, stands with cadres at the Thoppigila Camp, the military camp of the rebels, in Batticaloa. (photo by: Julia Drapkin) |
Col. Karuna, the Eastern Military Commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who was removed from his post by the LTTE Wanni leader Velupillai Prabhakaran rejected the statement and ridiculed it saying there was nothing to remove him since he removed himself and seceded from them before that announcement.
Sri Lanka military intelligence sources said the renegade rebels under Karuna have now moved to jungle hide outs like Thoppigala Tiger barracks showing ominous signs of an oncoming clash between forces loyal to Karuna and Prabhakaran. The renegade rebels deserted military garrisons in built up areas the same sources said.
Karuna tells journalist that he would retaliate if attacked
 Head of the Eastern faction of the Tamil Tiger rebels Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan, also known as Karuna looks on during an interview at Thopigila Campin Batticaloa on Thursday, March 4, 2004. (photo by: Julia Drapkin) |
Shimalee Senanayaka, the first journalist to break the news of the most serious internal clash of Sri Lanka’s Tamil rebel group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) met the rebel among the Tamil rebels, Eastern military leader Col. Karuna and quoted him as saying that he and his troops were ready to attack back his former leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and his loyalists if he or his troops were ever harmed in any way.
Interviewed by a London broadcasting station and introduced as the first journalist to meet the rebelling LTTE leader Col. Karuna, after his publicly announced break up with his former leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, Senanayaka said Karuna expressed the thoughts of attacking back Prabhakaran’s troops in case they were attacked.
Prabhakaran and Karuna disarm and arrest enemies
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
As the internal clash of the separatist rebels, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eeelam (LTTE) reached its climax Tamil Tiger rebels loyal to Velupillai Prabhakaran were escaping Eastern Province and rushing to reach Wanni, sources in Omanthai said.
Meanwhile the Eastern LTTE military leader Col Karuna was even seeking Sri Lanka government assistance to get troops loyal to him escape to their home areas in the Eastern Province.
Non TNA candidates forced to pull out
4 UNF candidates announced withdrawals
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
A large number of non-Tamil National Alliance (TNA) candidates from the mainly Tamil electoral districts of Wanni and Batticaloa have complained privately that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) gunmen who visited had threatened to kill them if they did not withdraw from contesting the coming general elections within the next ten days paving the way for the proxy LTTE candidates of the TNA to be uncontested and easily enter the parliament.
Sources in Wanni said the gunmen to obtain the withdrawal of non-TNA candidates from the elections had been unleashed by the Intelligence Chief of the LTTE Pottu Amman, with the consent of LTTE Supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran. Both were convicted for the murder of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
LTTE starts election killings by shooting non-TNA candidate.
 Anandasangari on the nominations day |
While the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) became the only party in the Provinces of the North and East to declare that the separatist terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was the sole representative of the Tamil people, a Tamil candidate who dared to give nominations outside the TNA in the Eastern province was shot dead by alleged gunmen of the LTTE.
The Tamil candidate, Sinnathamby Sundaram Pillai who was earlier injured by gun shots in an unsuccessful attempt by the LTTE to abduct him from his home at Ariyampathy in the Batticaloa District was admitted for treatment to the General Hospital Batticaloa where the two alleged LTTE gunmen entered the hospital and shot him point blank, Batticaloa security sources said.
US State Dept accuses LTTE of killing Tamil political opponents
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The US Department of State in a report issued, February 26, in Washington DC accused that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of assassinating its Tamil political enemies mercilessly and said during last year there was credible evidence that the LTTE killed more than 36 members of anti-LTTE political groups and suspected Tamil informants for the security forces mainly in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.
In the past the Norway managed Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission has said that there was no evidence to the effect that the LTTE was involved in these killings.
Breakaway faction of the Muslim Congress give a deathblow to Ranil
 The Ashraff faction of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, led by former Highways Minister A. L. M. Athaullah, after signing the agreement to contest the General Election on the UPFA ticket in a joyous mood with President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, at the President’s House. |
In a deathblow to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s ambition to form another minority supported government following the April general elections a strong faction of the UNF ally, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMM) is breaking away from the party and joining the United People’s Freedom Alliance led by President Chandrika Kumaratunga.
In a protest against party leader Rauff Hakeem’s decision to become an ally of the Wickremesinghe led United National Front the Deputy leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Anwar Ismail and Treasurer A.M. Haaris said they were joining the A. L. M. Athaulla faction who would become part of the SLFP-JVP led United People’s Freedom Alliance.
LTTE continues replacing MP's with their own Boys
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Voters of Tamil political parties, that are members of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) have been protesting against the interference of the terrorist outfit Liberation tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) removing even Members of Tamil political parties from candidate lists of the TNA and replacing them with the active members of the LTTE.
Voters charged that this was a political deception of the highest order since while putting forward candidates under democratic political party labels the candidates had vowed to implement terrorist and Fascist policies of the LTTE.
TULF in crisis since Sambandan's pro-LTTE candidate lists
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) is in the throes of its worst crisis regarding its own candidates at an election these days since its General Secretary R. Sampanthan trying to bulldoze his way with an allegedly Tamil Tiger nominated list of the party candidates completely ignoring all senior members of the of the party, TULF sources alleged in Colombo
Due to the pending crisis an approved final list of candidates and a party symbol for the April general elections have been so far delayed, the same sources said.
Chandrasekaran supports Ranil Wickramasinghe
 One of Chandrasekaran’s(L) first acts as a Minister was to meet Prabhakaran in Kilinochchi |
The Upcountry People’s Front leader Periyasamy Chandrasekaran who was engaged in one of the most unsuccessful political adventures to build up a grand alliance of upcountry Tamils with the separatist political movement in Sri Lanka’s’s Eastern and Northern Provinces led by Velupillai Prabhakaran announced he would support the leadership of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in the forthcoming General Elections unconditionally.
Few weeks ago, all major leaders of the upcountry plantation Tamils totally rejected Chandrasekaran’s political adventure pointing out the problems faced by the Indian origin Tamils of upcountry were totally different from those experienced by the Northern and Eastern Provinces Tamils.
Dont push us into armed conflict : Thamilselvan warns
 LTTE Army’s training exercise in Vanni jungle |
In a special interview broadcast by the pro-Tamil Tiger “Sandeshaya” of the BBC from Zurich, Switzerland the political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), S.P. Thamilchelvan said if the Sinhalese did not want to push their terrorist outfit once again into an armed conflict they should put into power a political party that should be able to fulfill the political intentions of the Tamils.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) according to intelligence reports smuggled in large hauls of heavy military equipments during the two years of Ceasefire with the passive Ranil Wickremesinghe government and publicly refused to disperse the worlds biggest squad of suicide bombers , known as Black Tigers, they continue to maintain.
LTTE military leader Karuna cautiously appeals to Sinhala voters to put Ranil back in power
 Senior LTTE military leader and their Eastern Commander Karuna |
The pro-LTTE “Sandeshaya”, the Sinhalese language service of the BBC said that LTTE military leader Karuna’s statement in Karadiyanaru in the Eastern Province, Tuesday (February 10) had been analyzed as an appeal to Southern voters to vote for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe led United National Front.
The LTTE news website Tamil Net quoted Karuna of having said, “We urge the Sinhala people to reject obscurantism and chauvinism and to choose political forces that are forward looking for the sake of peace and progress."
Farmers give up fast unto death after assurances by Alliance leaders
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The thirteen farmer protesters who started a fast unto death in front of Colombo’s main railway terminal, Fort station demanding the UNF government to bring down Urea fertilizer prizes gave up their protest after leaders of the newly formed United Freedom Alliance gave firm assurances to the fasting farmers that their demands would be met by a coming alliance government on April 3 general elections.
Leaders of the United Freedom Alliance, Anura Bandaranaike, Wimal Weerawansa , Venerable Elle Gunawansa and Arjuna Ranatunga gave assurance to the protesting farmers that not only the fertilizer prizes would be brought down but all other demands of them would be met after the new alliance of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) forms a new government after the coming general elections
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Using her authority provided under the Sri Lanka's Constitution, President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga dissolved the 12th Parliament of Sri Lanka, paving way for General elections on 02 April 2004.
The President dissolved the 225 member parliament at a time a time when an alliance between her Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) was showing promising signs of winning an overwhelming victory in the country.
All island fasts by farmers demanding lower prices for fertilizer
 Thirteen farmers of the All Ceylon Peasants Federation (ACPF) February 6, commenced a fast unto to death campaign opposite the Fort Railway Station to force the Government to immediately bring down the price of Urea fertilizer. (photo by:Wimal Karunathilake ) |
Thirteen protesting farmers including an aging woman, led by their leader, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) parliamentarian S. K. Subasinghe started a “fast unto death” in front of Colombo’s main railway terminal, the Fort Station demanding the ruling UNF government to bring down the “unbearable price” of Urea fertilizer needed for the cultivation of the country’s main staple food of rice.
The parliamentarian, also the Secretary of All Ceylon Peasant’s Federation (ACPF) said under the government of Ranil Wickremesinghe thousands of rice farmers all over the country were abandoning their livelihood of growing rice as the price of a bag of fertilizer had shot up from 350 rupees to more than 900 rupees.
Tigers abandon fast unto death campaigns due to lack of support
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Several Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) front organizations organized “fasts unto death” campaigns in the Jaffna Peninsula against the High Security Zone of the Sri Lanka Security Forces had to be abandoned due to majority of fasters withdrawing from the protests and lack of popular support for the fasts, sources in Jaffna said.
The LTTE organized protest at Thenmarachchi was started with 22 people on the Independence Day but after two days only 2 people remained in the protest after many fasters slipped away at night without informing the organizers, reports from Jaffna revealed.
Norway or japan does not offer altruistic love for Sri Lanka
 Venerable Elle Gunawansa Thero addressing the National Executive Committee meeting of the Patriotic National Movement |
Venerable Elle Gunawansa Thero charged neither Japan nor Norway were offering to help Sri Lanka’s peace for the altruistic love of the nation and both nations would like to force a system on Sri Lanka that would help the business interests of them to succeed eventually.
Addressing the inaugural convention of the Patriotic National Movement (PNM) Venerable Elle Gunawansa Thero, a member of the Executive Founder Committee of the organization, charged that the Japan was offering loans to Sri Lanka, to induce the government to accept some LTTE proposals that would eventually break up the nation.
Four Sri Lankans died with 240 fellow Muslims after being trampled to death in Mecca
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Reports from Saudi Arabia said that four Sri Lankan citizens who were on pilgrimage to Mecca died during the Sunday stampede of a stone throwing ritual together with 240 other fellow Muslims in the world.
Altogether 244 people were crushed to death by a stampede and nearly a similar number were believed injured at a place called Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where millions of Muslims from all over the world make their annual Hajj pilgrimage.
Three killed by suspected LTTE explosion in Anuradhapura
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
A farmer, son and a relative were killed instantly on the Wilachchiya road in Anuradhapura. while traveling on a hand tractor, by the explosion of a suspected Tamil Tigers land mine , possibly on January 27, police sources said.
Representatives of the Norway managed Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission visited the scene with the Police and the Mannar Magistrate to make investigations.
SLFP-JVP rally at Town Hall
 The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) leader Somawansa Amerasinghe said the United National Front government led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to prepare to face the people’s verdict in a free and fair election soon. |
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) leader Somawansa Amerasinghe told the mammoth inaugural rally of the newly formed United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) at Town Hall grounds in Central Colombo Sri Lanka, January 29, that his party was determined to take the agreed pact with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) to its fullest victory in implementation and usher freedom and prosperity to mother Lanka.
Speaking very confidently, the JVP leader said, that the alliance that was formed between the SLFP and the JVP was an exclusive and unique one different from all other alliances established in the past and “it is an alliance that says what it does and does what it says.”
UNP run Colombo Municipal refuses to grant permission for Soma statue
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
The ruling United National Front government, in addition to its numerous problems during what is believed to be an election year may have raised another hornet’s nest by refusing to allow erecting a statue of the late Venerable Gangodawila Soma Thero, Sri Lanka’s most popular religious leader these days.
The popular preacher shot up to sky-high popularity among the common people of Sri Lanka when he died of a massive heart attack in St. Petersburg , Russia while visiting that country amidst various charges of causing his death with ill will. The last people who visited him were told that he was not referred to emergency medical assistance when he suffered a heart attack in his plane carrying him to Moscow and St. Petersburg.
LTTE attack police in Wellawatte and caught with stolen pistol in a celing
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Two suspected spies of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have been arrested by the Wellawatte Police in Colombo Sri Lanka after they attacked two policemen walking back to the station after work, stole a service pistol of one of the constables, and while hiding in a ceiling of a LTTE safe house in the same area after escaping, police sources said.
Police said the two suspected spies had arrived in Colombo from Jaffna and Kilinochchi, allegedly under specific instructions from LTTE intelligence Chief Pottuamman to kill Tamil politicians and Tamil intelligence hands serving in the Sri Lankan security services in and around Colombo.
Chandrasekaran's proposal of building a LTTE led grand alliance faces premature death
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Ranil Wickremesinghe government’s Community Development Minister Periyasamy Chandrasekaran’s proposal to build a grand alliance of Tamil political parties including those of the Indian origin Tamils of the central hills working and living in the tea plantations was heading to a premature death and strong resistance by upcountry Tamil groups including their strongest political organization, the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC).
T. V. Sennan, a veteran trade unionist of the tea plantation Tamils, not attached to the CWC, has accused Chandrasekaran of attempting to link the North Eastern problems of the country which had no relevance to the Tamils of the Indian origin and trying to artificially create a military situation to destroy the precious lives of the tea plantation youth.
UNP reacts to the new alliance by hurling accusations and violence
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Flabbergasted by the sudden success of the formation of the alliance between Sri Lanka’s second and third largest political parties, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) the ruling United National Party (UNP) reacted with violence so far resulting in three deaths and maiming many others and hurling serious allegations against the new alliance.
According to Police reports, the murders and mayhem occurred when mostly the JVP members were decorating and taking part in public festivities celebrating the event. Among the dead were Nimal Gunasiri and Lal Pinto, two activists of the JVP. The third person who died of the assaults by the UNP was not available at the time of this writing. Police said 21 others had been admitted to hospitals allover the country.
Chandrasekaran busy forming a pro-LTTE party alliance
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Immediately after declaring that the Tamils were ready for a war at a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) propaganda rally in Eastern Sri Lanka the United National Front government’s cabinet minister Periyasamy Chandrasekaran said that he had discussed with the LTTE the possibility of forming a political party alliance of all minority political parties.
Tamil political sources in Colombo said the cabinet minister was only attempting to consolidate the power of the LTTE among Tamils amidst the serious challenges posed by the formation of the SLFP-JVP alliance and TULF President Veerasingham Anandasangari’s refusal to accept the LTTE as the sole representatives of the Tamils.
Minister Chandrasekeran declares they are ready for war
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Community development Minister of Ranil Wickremesinghe’s government Periyasamy Chandrasekaran with Prabhakaran |
A Tamil cabinet minister of the ruling United National Front government warned the Tamils were now ready for a war with Sri Lanka, two Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled websites reported, January 21.
The opposition has repeatedly complained that the LTTE was getting prepared for a war while taking cover under the Norway managed Ceasefire Agreement.
In a BBC Howler Rajitha attacks "Dasa Raja Dharma"
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
Dr. Rajitha Senarathna, political protégé of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and powerful cabinet minister of Sri Lanka’s United National Front government attacked Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) leader’s embracing of the Buddhist belief, “Dasa Raja Dharma”, the ten noble principles of government as an attempt by the leftist leader to march back to a feudal system of autocracy.
But two leading Buddhist monks in Los Angeles said the ten principles have nothing to do with any political system, feudalist, capitalist or socialist and was preached by Buddhism for good governance for rulers of all times.
-Interview with JVP leader in London before his departure-
"While a 200 year old USA wanted to teach all its citizens the country’s history Sri Lanka wanted to stop the teaching of its history"
 The alliance between the JVP and the SLFP was necessitated by the urgent national need of the country . |
The self-exiled leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Somawansa Amerasinghe said, what his party agreed to form after an election victory with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) was a pure capitalist democratic government in place of the crony and corrupt capitalism run with black money by the Ranil Wickremesinghe administration in Sri Lanka today.
Speaking eight hours before leaving his London home for Sri Lanka yesterday, the self-exiled leader of the island nation’s second largest parliamentary party scheduled to enter into an electoral agreement with the country’s largest opposition party, January 20, said in an exclusive telephone interview with this correspondent, under the corruption free democratic capitalist system envisioned to start under the new alliance of the two parties, the true Sri Lankan entrepreneurs would be placed in an unprecedented advantageous position to develop Sri Lanka to the fullest possible extent following new Asian leaders like Malaysia, India and China
Chest pains twice but no paramdics called
 In one of the last pictures taken in Russia the late Venerable Gangodawila Soma, whose untimely death still surrounds controversy, is seen in the center. On his right is seen Rupasiri Perera, a President of a Moscow Buddhist Society and a Sri Lankan student Hemantha Sirisena of St. Petersburg is seen on his left. Both of them visited him in the sanatorium and joined him in the daily walk recommended by the doctors for the heart patient on this day . |
The late Venerable Gangodawila Soma Thero suffered severe chest pains just before his plane touched Moscow airport and then during his immediate second flight from Moscow to St. Petersburg and neither at the Moscow airport nor at the St. Petersburg airport , his host Rev. Shanti Pushpakumara Jayasekera quickly responded by calling paramedics or immediately transporting him to a nearby hospital, Moscow’s Sri Lankan Buddhist Association President revealed.
In an article , unpublished so far, and obtained by this correspondent the President of the Sri Lanka Buddhist Association in Moscow said Rev. Jayasekera met Venerable Gangodawila Soma at the Moscow Airport and was told about the possible unbearable angina pains but he put him in a second plane to St. Petersburg in which he got a second attack. According to the article written by Buddhist Association President Rupasiri Perera there was no indication that Rev. Jayasekera called paramedics at St. Petersburg Airport as soon as the plane landed there, the careful examination of the document, by this correspondent revealed.
Dr. Omalpe challenges Vajera Abeywardena to a debate
 The Venerable Dr. Pandith Omalpe Sobhitha Thero |
Dr. Omalpe Sobhitha Thero, executive Committee member of the Jathika Sangha Sammelenaya (JSS) challenged a powerful UNP Minister, Vajera Abeywardena of the Ranil Wickremesinghe government who challenged the Buddhist leader on proselytizing earlier, to come to a public debate with him.
In an obvious reference to UNF government’s State Administration, Management and Reconstruction, Minister Vajera Abeywardena, Venerable Dr. Pandith Omalpe Sobhitha Thero also said now it was coming to light that certain puppet like leaders who do not have even an iota of knowledge about the reality of what is happening in the country could cause immense damage to the nation.
Buddhist monks and Minister clash over new laws against proselytizing
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles:
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Buddhists Prelates accuses the Minister for reneging agreement. Leading members of the all powerful Jathika Sangha Sammelenaya, Sri Lanka’s biggest organization of Buddhist prelates clashed with the Buddhist Affairs Minister W. J. M. Lokubandara. Asian Tribune Full report |