Category: Politics

SYDNEY, April 18, 2009 (AFP) – Tamil protesters who staged a seven-day hunger strike outside the Australian prime minister’s home said Saturday they had ended their protest following assurances their demands had been heard. “Australia continues to call on the Sri Lankan government to put forward credible political reforms to engage Tamils and other minorities […]

UNITED NATIONS, April 16, 2009 (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon has dispatched a top aide to Sri Lanka to try to ease the plight of tens of thousands of civilians trapped by fighting between government forces and Tamil separatists, a UN spokesman said Thursday. Farhan Haq told AFP that Vijay Nambiar, Ban’s chief staff, […]

WASHINGTON, April 16, 2009 (AFP) – The United States on Thursday urged an immediate ceasefire in Sri Lanka to save thousands of trapped civilians, saying the Colombo government had a chance to finally end three decades of war. “We call upon the government and military of Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tigers to immediately stop […]

GENEVA, April 17, 2009 (AFP) – The United Nations on Friday renewed its call for a pause in fighting between Tamil Tiger rebels and government troops in order to allow civilians trapped by the conflict to flee.“UNICEF is calling for a ceasefire and for a humanitarian pause which allows humanitarian workers to access the conflict […]

LONDON, April 15, 2009 (AFP) – The British and French foreign ministers said Wednesday that Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka are using civilians as human shields, which was preventing them from leaving the conflict zone. Miliband and Kouchner urged both sides to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law and to do everything […]

SYDNEY, April 13, 2009 (AFP) – Hundreds of Tamil protesters staged a rally outside Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s official Sydney residence Monday calling for a lasting ceasefire in Sri Lanka. About 300 demonstrators gathered outside Kirribilli House and nearby Admiralty House, the governor-general’s residence, to urge the Australian government to call for Colombo to […]

OSLO, April 12, 2009 (AFP) – A group of Tamil protesters stormed the Sri Lankan embassy in Oslo Sunday, police said, on the fifth day of demonstrations in the Norwegian capital calling for the end of fighting in Sri Lanka.Even Joerstad, an Oslo police superintendent, told AFP that around 100 Tamil demonstrators tried to storm […]

April 9, 2009 (AFP) – An international media rights group said Thursday there was a “lack of political will” in Sri Lanka to identify the killers of an anti-establishment newspaper editor. The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders accused Sri Lankan authorities of dragging out the probe into the murder of Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickrematunga, who […]

LONDON, April 7, 2009 (AFP) – British police moved in Tuesday to end an overnight protest by Tamils over alleged rights abuses in Sri Lanka, triggering brief scuffles, an AFP reporter said. Four lifeboats were scrambled after some of the protestors reportedly threatened to throw themselves into the nearby River Thames. One person did enter […]

March 18, 2009 (AFP) – A media rights group on Wednesday urged the United Nations to intervene on behalf of two Sri Lankan journalists being held on charges related to the war against the separatist Tamil Tiger guerrillas. The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said J.S. Tissainayagam has been held under an anti-terrorism law for […]

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2009 (AFP) – A rights group on Friday urged Sri Lanka to thoroughly investigate recent attacks against the media, saying it was disappointed with the government’s stance.Board members of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) met in Washington on Thursday with the Sri Lankan ambassador, Jaliya Wickramasuriya, to lodge their […]

OTTAWA, March 5, 2009 (AFP) – The 37-year conflict raging in Sri Lanka was borne out of “repressive” governments in Colombo, Canadian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs said Thursday.“I am sure all Canadians share the government’s revulsion at the continuing humanitarian catastrophe in Sri Lanka, a civil conflict born of a succession of repressive […]