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Eye goes to north
Residents in the north will be able to view the national television's Channel Eye from Tuesday, a senior official said.

Rupavahini's Additional Director General Upali Arambewale said moves were underway to set up towers and network facilities for beaming of programmes aimed at Tamil speaking people in the north.

He said Rupavahini towers at Pidurutalagala and Vavuniya would be linked to Sri Lanka Telecom towers in Mannar and Jaffna for this purpose as it would minimise the cost of the project.

Mr. Arambewale said that this was only a temporary arrangement and therefore there could be some problems in the reception. He said he believed that this move would help the ongoing peace process by bringing the people of the North and South together.

Sinhala MPs to take 'ban' campaign to villages
A group representing Sinhala opposition MPs are to carry out a mass protest campaign against the Government's decision to lift the ban on the LTTE.

A spokesman for the group said they had sought an appointment with President Chandrika Kumaratunga to explain their position to her while they had also written to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, calling on the government to reverse its decision.

He said their group would take its campaign to villages where the people would be informed about the dangerous repercussions the deproscription move held out for the country.

The spokesman also said they would discuss the matter with the Mahanayakes. Meanwhile, the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, a key ally of the opposition PA, on Thursday took a decision during a central committee meeting to oppose the move to lift the ban on the LTTE.

In a statement, the MEP said the government had a number of discussions with the LTTE at ministerial and official levels in the recent past despite the ban and therefore it believed the ban would not be an obstacle for the upcoming talks.

"If we lift the ban, the LTTE will be no more an illegal organization, and thereby qualify for recognition nationally and internationally. MEP would like to warn the government not to pursue this dangerous move of lifting the ban on the LTTE," the statement said.

Ruhuna students to launch death fast
Students of the Ruhuna University's medical faculty are to launch a death fast pressing their demand for the reopening of the faculty and the withdrawal of a suspension imposed on 17 students.

Student leaders told The Sunday Times their week-long national awareness campaign would culminate in a fast-unto-death, which would begin with a pirith ceremony.

The university has been declared out of bounds for students since August 15 after students took the vice chancellor and his staff hostage two weeks ago.

"The decisions of the university authorities were not aimed at instilling discipline in students but moves to suppress student movements and their activities. Punishment should be constructive not a destructive one," one student leader said.

He charged that the authorities were trying to make students culpable for an offence which they had not committed.

"What the authorities are seeking is not an apology, but a list of offences which we did not commit. If we submit such a list, we fear we will be hauled before courts," he said while dismissing the charge that the vice chancellor and his staff were taken hostage by the students.

Seventeen students of the Ruhuna medical faculty were suspended after an incident where students are alleged to have attacked nurses who attended a health course at the university premises early this year.

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