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battered nation struggles amidst political storms The JVP quit the government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga over the disputed P-TOMS agreement to channel tsunami aid to the North and the East and as a hotly-contested presidential election campaign was played out at year’s end, Mahinda Rajapakse emerged victorious on November 17 and took his oaths as the country’s fifth Executive President. And as the year ended, a shaky ceasefire seemed once again in peril and the country on the brink of war with the North and the East at flashpoint…………… JANUARY Engulfed by the tsunami, the fishing industry gasps for survival having lost many of its resources and workforce along with almost all of its customers - the latter who now believe that the fish is contaminated and not fit for human consumption. The
government estimates that US$ 1,500 million is needed to carry out
its rehabilitation and reconstruction plan. Confusion reigns as
Police try to enforce a 100-metre “buffer zone”, requiring
residents, hotel owners and shopkeepers within the area to move
their establishments further away from the beaches. January 7: Sri Lanka plays host to the Secretary General of the UN Kofi Annan and World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn; they are to be the first in a long line of visiting VIPs. January 22: President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga declares her intention to adopt a little malnourished Tamil girl, orphaned by the tsunami. February The agonizing custody battle ends on February 16 with a joyful reunion as the judge confirms their parentage based on DNA tests. February 7: Elayathamby Lingarasa, alias Kaushalyan - the LTTE political head for Batticaloa-Ampara district - is killed reportedly by the rival Karuna faction. His death results in numerous emotionally charged speeches and veiled threats directed at the government on the part of the LTTE leaders who also vow to carry on his work. Further
evidence is found to support the discovery that the LTTE not only
possess a newly built 1250 metre-long airstrip in Kilinochchi, but
that they are also equipped with aircraft to match it. This gives
the LTTE the advantage of “first strike capability”
if hostilities break out. The Sunday Times publishes exclusive thermal
images of the aircraft parked on the new runway. February 20: Two former US presidents – George Bush Snr. and Bill Clinton – arrive in Sri Lanka as part of the US effort to raise millions of dollars for tsunami victims across the continent. February 27: Baby Abhilash Jeyarajah, along with his parents leaves for a visit to the USA, courtesy of an American television network. March
March 26: The Tamil rebels launch a TV station from the Wanni to broadcast news to Europe. The station is to take the title National Television of Tamil Eelam. March 27: News of a controversial cabinet memorandum of an 84 million dollar deal with India’s Bharat Petroleum under which the Indian comapany will gain control of some 107 filling stations around the country sparks panic buying and a fuel crisis in Colombo city. April A shocking
school scam reveals that 50% of children have been admitted to national
schools based on fraudulent documents. June Mid-June is controversy ridden as President Kumaratunga ratifies the P-TOMS. The JVP quits the UPFA government in protest. June 17: President Kumaratunga removes Trincomalee Naval chief Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasinghe, who was at the centre of a controversy over the placing of a statue of Lord Buddha in Trincomalee town. July July 2: Police arrest Shramantha Jayamaha, boyfriend of the victim's younger sister for the alleged murder of Yvonne Jonsson. July 9: Four bullet-ridden bodies, including that of a former Central Province minister and a top tea trader, are discovered in a Land Cruiser parked in Cinnamon Gardens. Police believe they are motivated by revenge killings in the tea trade. July 9: President Kumaratunga’s biography authored by Graeme Wilson is released at a book launch at Visumpaya. The President’s office later claims that this is not the official version and that another author is compiling the authorized version of her memoirs. July 18: Amaratunga Arachige Morris Dias, better known as Chitrasena passes away at the age of 84, leaving behind a rich legacy as the greatest Sri Lankan dancer of contemporary times. Having made his debut at the age of 15, Chitrasena studied at Shantiniketan in India and then returned to Lanka to revolutionise dance in this country. He is remembered not only for his spellbinding ballets and virtuoso performances but also for the Chitrasena Kalayathanaya – his dance school established in 1944. The Chitrasena- Vajira Dance Company was the first to take Sri Lankan dance to the world stage, wowing East and West alike with their grace and artistry. August August 13: The country is plunged into mourning when Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar is gunned down at his Buller’s Lane residence by a sniper. Investigations reveal serious security lapses in his personal protection arrangements, enabling the assassins to stake out his residence, months before the assassination. Earlier the same day, television and radio presenter, Relangi Selvarajah and her husband are shot dead by unidentified gunmen, while in their shop in Bambalapitiya. Several women are suspected to be suffering from fungal meningitis after being administered spinal anaesthesia during Caesarean operations at the De Soysa Maternity hospital and the Castle Street Hospital for Women. Two of the women succumb to the disease, and an inquiry is launched to trace the cause of the infection. September September 19: Ending months of speculation, Elections Commissioner, Dayananda Dissanayake announces that presidential elections will be held on November 17. September 21 – 25: A spectacular extravaganza of drums and drumming takes place as WOMAD (World of Music, Art and Dance) visits Sri Lanka for the first time. October October 18: UPFA candidate, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse formally presents his manifesto, ‘Mahinda Chinthanaya’ in which he vows to uphold the unitary status of Sri Lanka and replace the P-TOMS with a new Jaya Lanka programme. Poultry sales drop as the country braces for a possible outbreak of bird-flu with the onset of the migratory bird season. The Cabinet approves an additional Rs.110 million to be used by the Department of Animal Production and Health to bolster preventive measures against the disease. In what is said to be an attempt to reduce election-related violence, the police clamp a censorship on the media by placing a blackout of news on polls-related violence and the misuse of state property by politicians. November November 17: Election Day: Sri Lankans turn out in large numbers to elect the country’s fifth Executive President. But a LTTE boycott in the north and the east sees voters being kept away. Meanwhile in Colombo, thousands find themselves deprived of their franchise as their names have been left out of the voters’ list. A high turnout, however, is recorded at camps for Internally Displaced Persons around the country and a relatively peaceful election is concluded. The Elections Commissioner rejects a request by the UNP for a re-poll in the north and east despite evidence of intimidation, violence and obstruction of voters in those areas November 18: Mahinda Rajapakse is declared the official winner of the closely contested elections garnering 50.2 % of the total votes polled as against rival UNP candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe’s 48.4 %. November 19: Mahinda Rajapakse is sworn in as the fifth Executive President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. November 22: Torrential rainfall causes flash floods that affect thousands of families, and cause several deaths. President Rajapakse orders an immediate stoppage of payment on cheques amounting to over Rs. 750 million from the President’s Fund, signed by his predecessor, Chandrika Kumaratunga, sparking controversy over the use of the Fund and the perks enjoyed by the former President. December December
6: Less than 48 hours later, one officer and six soldiers are killed
when a claymore mine blows up their tractor in Kopay, Jaffna. December
23: The LTTE attacks 15 sailors in an incident in Mannar, killing
13 with two gravely injured. December
26: A country remembers and mourns the loss of those lives so cruelly
claimed by the tsunami exactly a year ago. Commemoration ceremonies
are held in temples and places of worship all over the country with
President Rajapake leading the ceremony at Peraliya, scene of the
world’s worst train disaster and launching the Jaya Lanka
Programme to “build a new Sri Lanka”. |
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