Sri Lanka Timeline: 2003

Sri Lanka Timeline: 2003

January 3	The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) says decommissioning weapons is "non-negotiable", until a final solution is reached. A day earlier Army chief Lt. Gen. Lionel Balagalle’s said IDPs would not be allowed to resettle in (High Security Zones (HSZs) unless the LTTE gave weapons.
January 4	Norway refutes President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s allegation that it was illegally helping the LTTE to import radio equipment, under the guise of brokering peace. It says it had merely responded to a government request to help LTTE import communication equipment for an FM station.
January 7	LTTE, government agree on resettling internally displaces persons in HSZs. They would in the first stage be settled outside the HSZs. Cabinet Minister G.L. Peiris says resettlement is "daunting in its proportions but we have to begin somewhere", and would be done without impairing state security.
January 8	Over 25,000 persons protest in a Janata Vimukthi Peramuna rally protesting the peace talks with the LTTE and allege it is a western imperialist conspiracy to divide the country.
January 10	The prevailing conditions are "not conducive" for repealing the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary provisions) Act, Defence Minister Tilak Marapone announces in Parliament.
January 11	LTTE turns away 14 children (12 girls and two boys)––all students––aspiring to join its cadres.
January 14	2,000 Budhdhist monks protest at Nugegoda Junction, Colombo suburbs, led by the ‘Federation of Bikkhus to Rescue the Motherland’, against peace talks with the LTTE.
January 22	The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) notes an overall decline in the monthly number of complaints of truce violations. In December 2002, a total of 142 valid complains were received––118 against the LTTE and 24 against government forces. It adds, since the truce cam into force and until December 31, 2002, ruling has been made in 502 cases against the LTTE and 54 against government forces.
January 22	Jaffna district committee for resettling IDPs outside HSZs commences work.
January 23	Representatives of the government and LTTE attended a meeting in the capital Colombo, for the first time in 12 years, and brief 20 donor countries on immediate humanitarian needs.
January 24	Maj. Gen. (Retd) Tryggve Tellefsen will replace Maj. Gen. (Retd) Trond Furuhovde as SLMM chief in late February or March 2003, say reports.
January 28	LTTE political-wing leader S. P. Tamilselvam says, in Kilinochchi, "Lack of discipline in some cadres of lower ranks (in the LTTE)" is the primary cause for cease-fire violations.
	Reports quoting Anton Balasingham say the LTTE would reject any proposal that links resettling IDPs to decommissioning its weapons.
January 29	LTTE proscription in the United Kingdom would continue, Minister in the Foreign Office Mike O'Brien says in Colombo.
February 3	SLMM chief Trond Furuhovde says dismantling HSZs for resettlement and cultivation will change the balance of power between the security forces and the LTTE.
February 8	In a serious violation of truce terms three LTTE cadres blow themselves up in a boat carrying arms and ammunition off Delft island. In a joint statement, the government and the LTTE say the incident was a result of communication gap between LTTE cadres and commanders. At the fifth round of peace talks in Berlin, the government and the LTTE agree to frame safeguards against sea incidents. They also agree to discuss political issues at the next round of talks in Japan in March. The LTTE says its has worked out an action plan with UNICEF to stop recruitment of child soldiers and discloses it had returned 350 children to their parents in the last six months.
February 16	The SLMM says, "Using military forces to maintain law and order can be justified during times of war, but is highly likely to lead to unnecessary violence and increased tensions during times of peace".
February 17	The body of a soldier killed in LTTE controlled area in Kilaly is handed over, in Colombo, to his parents.
February 18	SLMM says that live firing exercise by LTTE attack craft off-Mullaitivu is a clear violation of truce terms.
February 20	Government chief negotiator G.L.Peiris expresses satisfaction with the achievements of the peace process thus far. Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) organises a massive protest march against the ongoing cease-fire between the government and the LTTE.
February 21	Premier Wickremesinghe notes that the peace process has fared "well" in the past one year and adds, "We are facing issues which require more discussions, and which will also face difficulties."
February 22	The ongoing truce between the government and the LTTE completes one year.
February 22	Navy detains seven LTTE cadres in government controlled area for moving with arms but subsequently releases them at the intervention of the SLMM near Kuchchaveli.
February 24	A government soldier is found dead at a guard post near Koliyar Kulam checkpoint, Vavuniya.
February 26	SLMM new chief Tryggve Tellefsen and his colleagues meet with LTYTE and government representatives at the SLMM office in Vavuniya.
February 27	Minister Rauf Hakeem leads a Muslim delegation and asks Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe to enable Muslims to participate as an independent group in the peace talks.
March 2	LTTE ideologue Anton Balasingham and chief Prabhakaran meet in Mullaitivu and discuss the political situation in the island, progress of the peace talks and issues to be taken up at the forthcoming round of talks in Japan.
March 4	SLMM chief Tellefsen and LTTE senior commander Col. Karuna meet in Karadiyanaru, Batticaloa district, and discuss the implementation of the ongoing truce.
March 5	LTTE releases a government soldier and constable who were in its custody.
March 5, 6	The first meeting of the Subcommittee for the welfare and rehabilitation of war affected women and children is held in Kilinochchi.
March 7	LTTE and Tamil National Alliance agree to work jointly to take the ongoing peace process forward and strengthen ties between Tamils and Muslims.
March 10	Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) sinks an LTTE vessel––suspected to be ferrying arms––killing 11 cadres, 180 nautical miles east of Mulathivu.
	The SLFP, JVP, the MEP, the National Unity Alliance (NUA) and Buddhist monks, hold a massive protest march in Colombo against the peace process.
March 12	LTTE ideologue Balasingham says in Kilinochchi that sinking an LTTE vessel on March 10 is a "grave violation" of the truce and "contravenes international law". He adds, "Though there is mutual trust and confidence at the conference table, the reality of the situation in the field is very different. The Sri Lanka Army and Navy have taken an uncompromising position."
March 13	Muslim Members of Parliament call on President Kumaratunga and discuss the representation to community at the ongoing peace talks.
March 16	Truce Monitors say in their report on the March 10-incident, in which an LTTE vessel was sunk, that "it is difficult to draw a ruling based on two contradictory versions of the Navy and the LTTE."
March 17	Navy troops chase an LTTE boat and arrest three Sea Tigers’ cadres, off Trincomalee, after they allegedly dumped some boxes into the sea.
March 18	The sixth round of the peace talks between the government and the LTTE begins in Hakone, near Tokyo.
March 20	Suspected Sea Tigers cadres of the LTTE sink a Chinese fishing trawler, 33km northwest of Mullaithivu. 16 fishermen go missing, 16 more are rescued.
March 21	Media reports say that at the peace talks, ‘the fiscal aspect of power sharing between the centre and the units was discussed, in the main, and preliminary discussions on were held on political aspects of power sharing. "We are paying… attention [to] the availability of resources to the units, and how well these resources can be raised within various models", Minister Peiris says.
March 27	LTTE assures a Muslim delegation that they are free to cultivate their lands in LTTE-controlled areas and assures that their properties were not seized.
March 29	SLMM prepares report on the sinking of the Chinese finishing trawler and fails to identify the culprits. It asks the Government and the LTTE to identify, trace and punish the attackers.
March 30	A 20-member LTTE team leaves for Nordic countries to study federalism, constitutional framework and administrative structures followed there.
April 1	LTTE denies its cadres made an abortive attack on a merchant navy vessel ferrying troops on March 31, near Trincomalee. Four soldiers were injured, while the attacking dingy boat was sunk in security forces’ retaliatory firing
April 2	An unidentified-armed assailant kills paramilitary leader Varathan in Aariyampathi, near Batticaloa.
April 3	Government chief negotiator and Minister G L Peiris says that the Government would consider conducting a referendum on the future of the peace process in response to a request by a cross-section of the society. Report indicates that the LTTE trained 400 male cadres and 300 women cadres at its Tharavai central training camp in Batticaloa district.
April 5	The JVP observes 32nd anniversary of its aborted bid to capture state power and to establish a ‘Communist regime’ in 1971.
April 8	LTTE assures the SLMM during a meeting at Sampoor in Trincomalee that it will ‘suspend’ the movement of its cadres through Government-controlled areas at night after due procedures are formulated in this regard.
April 9	Talks between the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Defence Ministry on identifying a new site for the Army’s Jaffna town brigade headquarters remain inconclusive.
April 14	Preliminary conference to the forthcoming international donors conference begins in Washington DC without LTTE’s participation. US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Armitage says that the LTTE is designated as a foreign terrorist organization in the US since 1997, and hence its representatives were not given visas to attend the meeting.
April 17	India’s Ambassador in Washington Lalit Mansingh says at the preliminary international donors’ conference that India would support a final solution to Sri Lanka's protracted ethnic conflict that would recognise the rights of all communities.
April 18	Three Muslims die during a clash between Tamils and Muslims in Muttur town. Unidentified gunman kills an important leader of Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) at Akkaraipattu in Batticaloa.
April 21	Representatives of the LTTE and the Muttur division of the Majlis al Shura–an association of Muslims agree to restore peace.
April 30	Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, in a reply to the LTTE Chief Negotiator Anton Balasingham's letter on temporarily pulling out from the peace talks, calls upon the group to review its present stance and continue its participation in the negotiations. The JVP appeals to the Government to make decommissioning of long-range weapons held by the LTTE a minimum condition for the removal of High Security Zones (HSZ). The US State Department’s report on Global Terrorism states that LTTE would continue to remain a "foreign terrorist organisation" as the outfit has not renounced terrorism and continues to smuggle weapons and indulge in forcible recruitment, including the recruitment of children.
May 4	Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen arrives in Colombo to meet LTTE Chief Negotiator Anton Balasingham and discuss possibilities of an early resumption of ‘suspended’ peace talks. The SLMM says if the LTTE were to be found responsible for the killings of Tamil opponents during the past year, it will be termed as a violation of the cease-fire Agreement, signed on February 22, 2002.
May 10	Visiting Japanese special envoy Yasushi Akashi asks both, the Government and LTTE to make clear their stand by May 14 on their participation in the forthcoming Tokyo Donors Conference to be held on June 9 and 10.
May 12	Colonel’ Pathuman, the LTTE ‘military commander’ in eastern Trincomalee city admits that the LTTE is training more cadres purportedly to maintain its ‘military’ strength.
May 13	Suspected LTTE cadres attack the local PLOTE office in Batticaloa and injure eight PLOTE members.
May 15	An LTTE statement at Kilinochchi says that a formal mechanism to administer funds for the reconstruction of the North-East should be set up as a prerequisite for the group to participate at the Tokyo donor conference.
May19	The LTTE asks for more time to study the Government's response to its demands to resume peace talks and take part in the forthcoming Tokyo aid conference.
May 21	The LTTE asks the Government to formulate an interim administration instead of the Sub Committee on Immediate Humanitarian Rehabilitation Needs (SIHRN) with a view to reviving and forging ahead the peace process.
May 23	The main opposition party People's Alliance (PA) opposes the LTTE demand for an "Internal administration outside the constitutional framework of Sri Lanka" as a prerequisite for its participation in the forthcoming ‘donor conference’ at Tokyo.
May 26	Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik arrives in Tokyo on a three-day visit for talks regarding Sri Lankan peace process with his Japanese counterpart Junichiro Koizumi.
May 27	Sri Lankan authorities say proposals on a mechanism to undertake development, rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Northeast region of the country has been handed over to Norwegian Special Envoy Erik Solheim to be conveyed to the LTTE. In Tokyo, Norwegian Premier Bondevik says that the Sri Lankan Government should show flexibility in response to the LTTE's request to set up an interim administration.
May 28	Security forces commanders and the LTTE military leadership meet in the no-man's zone in Kattaparichchan, Trincomalee, to bridge differences and to make new lines of communications between the two parties.
May 29	Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe declares that the Government will seek solutions to the Tamil issue "within the framework of the laws" and people will be consulted before a final solution to the conflict is implemented. At an official meeting with the Hindu Religious Affairs Minister T Maheswaran, President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga says that she is willing to have the displaced people settled in the HSZ in the NEP other than in the Palali area. The EPDP alleges that the LTTE is training a special group for deployment in the Muttur area.
May 30	The LTTE rejects alternate proposals suggested by the Government and criticises it for not specifying the participatory role of the LTTE in the proposed structure.
June 1	Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe says that the proposed interim administrative structure for the NEP, among other things, would safeguard the interests of all communities in the region and enable the LTTE to play a significant role without being in conflict with the laws of the country.
June 2	Prime Minister Wickremesinghe rejects LTTE demand for an Interim Administration (IA) in the NEP outside the law and the constitution. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe writes to Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen requesting the facilitators to arrange a dialogue with the LTTE, which will enable the Government to explain and clarify its proposals for an administrative mechanism for the NEP. Japan warns the LTTE that it will go ahead and hold the "Aid Lanka" meet in Tokyo, as planned on June 9 and 10, whether the LTTE agreed to attend it or not.
June 3	Police allege that the LTTE has issued death threats to K B Gunaratne, organiser of the Sinhala section of the EPDP in Pottuvil, Panama in Ampara district.
June 4	LTTE chief negotiator Anton Balasingham rejects Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s proposed apex body for the NEP, but expresses willingness to resume talks on a draft framework for an interim administrative structure for NEP reconstruction and rehabilitation. A diplomatic team comprising Dutch, Swiss, UK and German Ambassadors meets LTTE political wing chief Tamilselvan to reaffirm, as bilateral donors, their strong support for the peace process. Ministry of Defence clarifies that the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) has reported 18 LTTE violations relating to killings of intelligence unit members to the SLMM.
June 5	The European Commission adopts an Euro 3.27 million aid resolution under its Rapid Reaction Mechanism in support of the peace process in Sri Lanka.
June 6	In Colombo, more than 10,000 activists, including parliamentary members of the Sinhala Nationalist Party (SNP) and the JVP, protest against reported attempts by the Sri Lanka Government to hand over Northeast interim administration to the LTTE. Anton Balasingham reiterates that negotiations on an interim administration for the NEP would begin only after Government produces a detailed draft of its proposals for such a body.
June 8	Minister G L Peiris says that the LTTE too would have say on aid utilisation in the NEP even if it were not participating in the Tokyo donors’ conference.
June 9	Speaking at the beginning of donors conference on Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka in Tokyo, Japan, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe promises to revive stalled peace talks with the LTTE offering to meet their key demand for an interim administration in NEP. He also says his government would consider calling a referendum to endorse changes to the country's Constitution that could be part of a final solution to the 20-year conflict. Donors pledge US dollars 4 billion aid over the next four years to rebuild Sri Lanka.
June 10	The main opposition party PA of Sri Lanka promises to re-negotiate foreign aid amounting to $4 billion secured by the Government at the Tokyo aid conference.
June 11	In Kilinochchi, the LTTE in a statement reiterates that it will resume peace talks only after a draft framework of the interim administrative framework for the NEP is produced. LTTE also rejects the Prime Minister's offer for a provincial administrative structure.
June 13	In Colombo, the main opposition party PA asks the Government to place the armed forces on red alert alleging that the LTTE has reverted its position to Tamil homeland policy.
June 14	A suspected LTTE sharpshooter kills a top leader of the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) in Jaffna. The SLN blows up suspected arms smuggling vessel of the LTTE with 12 sea tigers onboard on international waters 266 nautical miles off the coast of Mullaitivu.
June 16	SLMM prevents security forces from searching LTTE’s political office at Chullipuram in Jaffna.
June 17	In Jaffna, the LTTE asks the SLMM to stop the SLA from establishing new camps in the peninsula.
June 18	Three members of the LTTE child brigade escape from an LTTE camp and report to the Eravur police.
June 19	In a televised address to the Nation, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe says that the Government intends to establish a Northeast interim administration council that would protect the rights of all communities after taking the consent of the LTTE. The LTTE declines Government’s offer to discuss an "interim administrative council" and says that it would only join talks when the Government unveils a "practical conceptual framework".
June 21	Addressing the 14th national convention of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) at Nittambuwa in the Western province, President Chandrika Kumaratunga says that she had ordered the Navy to destroy the LTTE vessel on June 14 off the Mullaitivu coast.
June 24	Two Tamil youths escape from an LTTE camp and seek refuge at the Omanthai Army checkpoint. They disclose that they had been detained for training over two and a half years at a camp at the Oddusudan-Kandamadu area.
June 25	President Chandrika Kumaratunga warns that the LTTE is preparing for war and that the security forces are ill prepared to meet the challenge.
June 26	The LTTE complaints to the SLMM in Trincomalee that SLA violated cease-fire agreement by attempting to enter Kurankupanchchan area.
June 27	In an interview to the Colombo-based Tamil daily Sudar Oli, LTTE leader A Balasingham calls the recently concluded Tokyo Donor Conference "an international trap" and also accuses ‘some of the world super powers’ of resorting to "an economic blackmail." Police and the SLA arrest 13 Tamil youths following a joint search operation in Wellawatte. The SLMM in its investigation report on the June 14 incident of the sinking of LTTE vessel off the Mullaitivu coast indicates that the Navy was right in intercepting the vessel. It adds that the LTTE had violated the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) by "not flying an appropriate flag and official, visible identification at the time of the incident".
June 28	306 persons are arrested for their alleged links with the LTTE in Colombo and its suburbs. SLA and Police storm a five-day UNICEF-sponsored conference held at hotel at Digana in Kandy District alleging that the participants were LTTE members. The SLMM asks both the Navy and the LTTE to give a detailed record of their vessels’ movement to the SLMM so that it could monitor their activities.
June 30	The SLMM recommends LTTE to remove a camp in Kinniya ruling that the area is Government controlled. A report says that the LTTE killed 108 persons suspecting them to be its opponents, since the signing of the MoU with the Government on February 22, 2002.
July 1	LTTE disputes SLMM ruling that the Kurankupanchan area in the Trincomalee district comes under Sri Lankan Government control.
July 10	Report says the LTTE killed 112 persons, including intelligence operatives attached to the security forces, police personnel and also members of Tamil parties opposed to it since the signing of the MoU with the Sri Lankan Government on February 22, 2002.
July 12	During a meeting with a 12-member delegation of the Sri Lanka Tamil Media Alliance (STMA) in Kilinochchi, LTTE leader Thamilselvan says that the LTTE is ready to ‘face war’ if it would be imposed.
July 13	The fourth meeting of the subcommittee on Tamil-Muslim issues is held under SLMM auspices at the Vavunathivu.
July 14	SLMM chief Tryggve Tellefsen arrives in Kilinochchi on a three-day visit to Vanni to obtain LTTE views over its report on clashes on sea. The Sri Lanka Police and SLA arrest six LTTE cadres in Batticaloa during a joint search operation, and seize an unspecified number of weapons from their possession. The Norwegian Special Adviser and Ambassador Erik Solheim during an interview says that killing of democratically elected politicians by the LTTE was unacceptable and also a violation of the cease-fire agreement.
July 15	Police arrest eight LTTE cadres, including four women, for possessing explosives in Batticaloa. At a meeting at Kokkadicholai camp in Batticaloa, the LTTE’s east zone military wing leader Karuna Amman alias Karuna reportedly asks the LTTE provincial leaders to kill Government intelligence operatives and also send a report to him in this regard.
July 16	Four persons, including two police constables, are injured in a grenade attack inside the premises of the PLOTE office premises in Trincomalee.
July 17	G L Peiris says that Norwegian special peace envoy Jon Westborg formally handed over to the LTTE Government’s proposals on LTTE’s role in the NEP.
July 19	Residence of the chairman of the Tamil-Muslim Reconciliation Committee, Mohamed Hussein Hayat Mohamed, is attacked at Oddamavadi in Batticaloa district.
July 20	Premier Wickremesinghe reiterates that interim administrative system in the NEP would be within the Constitution and opposition parties would also be consulted before taking a final decision is taken.
July 22	SLMM deputy chief Hagruph Haukland informs that the SLMM would increase the number of naval monitors in Jaffna and Trincomalee to prevent likely clashes between the Navy and LTTE.
July 28	Unidentified assailants throw grenades at the LTTE’s political office in Vavuniya Town.
July 30	SLMM spokeswoman Agnes Bragadottir confirms that the LTTE have done nothing to vacate the Wan-Ela camp in Kinniya despite frequent requests from the mission.
August 6	US ask the LTTE to renounce terrorism alleging that the group is indulging in activities undermining the peace process in Sri Lanka. Official sources reveal that 40 intelligence operatives attached to the armed forces and police were killed by the LTTE since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on February 22, 2002.
August 10	Suspected LTTE cadres allegedly kill a SLA intelligence officer in the eastern coastal town of Akkaraipattu.
August 21	Sri Lanka Navy personnel arrest two women LTTE cadres from Thiruperunthurai village in Batticaloa district. However, they were later released after interrogation.
September 1	LTTE denies SLMM monitors’ access to the Wan-Ela camp during a routine patrol.
September 13	A report says the LTTE recruited approximately 70 cadres, including children, in the eastern province during the past two weeks following instructions form the LTTE political wing leader S P Thamilselvan. The recruits are reportedly being trained at the Kanchikudiaru camp in Ampara and Tharava camp in Batticaloa.
September 14	Suspected LTTE cadres kill an EPRLF activist in Batticaloa.
September 26	Addressing the 58th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe says that the Government will look positively at the LTTE proposals and will do everything to keep the peace process moving forward to a successful conclusion.
October 4	United States re-designates the LTTE as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) pursuant to Section 219 of the US Immigration and Nationality Act. A group of LTTE cadres abduct at least 24 persons at Valaichchenai in Batticaloa district, a day after a UNICEF funded scheme to demobilise forcibly conscripted child soldiers got underway in Kilinochchi.
October 7	UNICEF reiterates that the continued recruitment of children by the LTTE was ‘completely unacceptable’ and was a serious violation of children’s rights.
October 8	In a letter made available to the press, President Kumaratunga accuses Prime Minister Wickremesinghe of mismanaging the nation’s security and ignoring the threat to the island’s eastern sea port at Trincomalee. Further, she accuses the Premier of allowing the LTTE to increase their military prowess during the cease-fire period.
October 12	SLMM Deputy Chief Hagrup Haukland criticises the decision by Sihala Urumaya, a Sinhalese party, to visit the controversial Wan Ela camp, terming it as a "provocative act" by a third party.
October 14	Sihala Urumaya activists return without reaching the controversial Wan Ela camp in Manirasakulam, Trincomalee, as they are stopped by security forces at the Surangal Army detachment.
October 17	LTTE hands over 13 forcibly conscripted children to the UNICEF officials in Batticaloa.
October 29	The final decision on any problem within the truce is a matter for the SLMM and both the Government and LTTE are obliged to abide by that decision, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told the Cabinet.
October 31	LTTE hands over their Interim Administration proposals to the Sri Lankan Government through the Norwegian facilitators.
November 1	The LTTE demands an "Interim Self-Governing Authority for the NorthEast (ISGA)," with majority powers for itself and complete control over regional administration "until a final settlement is reached and implemented" in its counter-proposals. The LTTE's demands include "all powers and functions in relation to regional administration exercised by the Government in and for the northeast'' including revenue, law and order, land and marine resources. Further, it has sought control over finances with powers over domestic and international borrowings and to "engage in or regulate internal and external trade."
November 4	President Chandrika Kumaratunga removes the portfolios of Defence, Interior and Mass Communication from Ministers Tilak Marapana, John Amaratunga and Imthiaz Bakeer Markar and also prorogues the Parliament until November 19.
November 5	President Kumaratunga declares a state of ‘short-term’ emergency in the country. She also states that the cease-fire agreement with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) will stand.
November 6	President Kumaratunga takes control of the state-run radio, television and newspapers.
November 7	President Chandrika Kumaratunga withdraws the state of emergency she declared on November 5.
November 10	The Government announces that talks with the LTTE have been indefinitely postponed.
November 11	Three Sri Lankan men suspected to be LTTE cadres are sentenced to five years in jail for arms smuggling by a court in the Thailand capital Bangkok.
November 12	President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe meet in Colombo to discuss the ongoing crisis. The LTTE is believed to have assisted four of their cadres escape from the Trincomalee prison. The accused were due to be produced in Courts at Trincomalee, Mutur and Kantalai and had been arrested in May 2003 for carrying explosives.
November 13	LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran assures the Norwegian facilitators, Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen and Special Envoy Erik Solheim, in Kilinochchi that the outfit remains committed to the peace process and cease-fire but insisted that political instability in the South must end for dialogue to resume.
November 14	Norway has no intention of abandoning the peace process, says Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen in Colombo. He said Norway would continue as a facilitator, provided that there is clarity about who is holding responsibility on the Government side. Until such clarity is re-established, there is no space for further efforts by the Norwegian Government to assist the two parties in making further progress in the peace process, he added.
November 16	LTTE’s political offices in Government controlled North-East will continue despite the political instability and the suspension of the Norwegian facilitation, an LTTE spokesperson said.
November 18	President Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe meet to discuss core issues on which they could work together. A committee is appointed to work out the details of future working arrangements under which the President and the Premier can work together on issues of national importance.
November 21	President Kumaratunga sets a December 15 deadline to resolve the ongoing political standoff with Premier Wickremesinghe and for the two sides to decide on a Government of reconstruction and reconciliation.
November 26	Three Muslims are killed and six others injured during grenade attacks in Trincomalee and Kinniya.
November 27	LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran in his "Heroes' Day" address denies allegations that the outfit was re-arming for war and also claimed that its counter-proposals are not a step towards secession.
November 28	President Kumaratunga forwards a proposal for setting up a Joint Peace Council (JPC) to be co-chaired by the President and Prime Minister to overcome the ongoing impasse in the peace talks.
December 5	Talks between President Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe fail to make a breakthrough to end their month-old political impasse. "There was no breakthrough in the talks… But the talks were cordial, they reviewed the progress of the official-level talks and wanted them to complete their work by the original deadline," said an unnamed official.
December 15	The Samarawickrema-Tittawella Committee discusses President Kumaratunga's proposal for a National Security Ministry without achieving a breakthrough. Earlier, the President and the Prime Minister had set a December 15 deadline on the Samarawickrema-Tittawella Committee to reach a solution to the political stalemate. Though the deadline passed, the Committee will continue its deliberations.
December 28	President Kumaratunga, while participating in a live radio debate of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation alleges that Premier Wickremesinghe had created an imaginary Constitutional crisis on the basis of the take-over of the Ministries of Defence, Internal Security and Mass Communications by her in the first week of November 2003.

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