Category: Politics

Feb 13, 2009 (LBO) – Contrary to claims that several hundred thousand civilians are trapped in a conflict area in the northeast of Sri Lanka, the latest official estimate is that only 65,000 people remain, a government minister said.Disaster relief services minister Rishad Badurdeen said 34,430 people have escaped from remaining Tamil Tiger controlled areas […]

February 9, 2009 (AFP) – The BBC has suspended its FM programming to Sri Lanka’s national broadcaster because of what it claimed was “deliberate interference”, it said Monday. In a statement, the BBC said its programmes and news reports in English, Sinhala and Tamil had been blocked by the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), and […]

LONDON, February 6, 2009 (AFP) – The British government said it deplored Friday’s stoning of the Red Cross offices in Colombo, saying the ICRC was a neutral body carrying out vital work to protect Sri Lankan civilians. “The British government has recently allocated a further 2.5 million pounds (3.7 million dollars, 2.9 million euros) to […]

Feb 07, 2009 (LBO) – “I happen to be in love with dictators,” says Moses Isegawa, a Ugandan author whose life had been shaped by the likes of former dictator Idi Amin, and who eventually left his home country to write from abroad.“Every word is a vote,” insists Anam. V V Ganeshanthan, whose debut novel […]

February 6, 2009 (AFP) – A mob stoned the main office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo on Friday, smashing windows, a spokeswoman told AFP.The crowd of protestors, estimated to number around 200, shouted slogans, including “ICRC go home,” before being dispersed by police, spokeswoman Sophie Romanens […]

WASHINGTON, February 3, 2009 (AFP) – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her British counterpart David Miliband called here Tuesday for a “temporary no-fire period” in Sri Lanka to evacuate casualties and allow in relief.“Secretary Clinton and Foreign Secretary Miliband call on both the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of […]

Feb 04, 2009 (LBO) – President Mahinda Rajapaksa has urged Sri Lankans who left the island because of war to return to help rebuild the nation and revive its economy, saying Tiger terrorism was about to be completely crushed. “You must show respect to all communities,” Rajapaksa said. “The future belongs to those who sow […]

NEW DELHI, February 4, 2009 (AFP) – Opposition political parties in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu called a general strike Wednesday to protest civilian casualties from the war in nearby Sri Lanka.Sri Lanka’s Tamils share close cultural and religious links with the 55 million Tamils in Tamil Nadu, which is also home to thousands […]

February 2, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has heightened its usually tight security ahead of national day celebrations even though the rebel Tamil Tigers have been brought to their knees for the first time in decades. The island marks the 61st anniversary of independence from Britain Wednesday with a military parade while its security forces […]

OTTAWA, January 30, 2009 (AFP) – Hundreds of Tamils on Friday formed a human chain in downtown Toronto, Canada’s biggest city, to protest a Sri Lankan military push for victory against Tamil rebels. Toronto is home to the largest concentration of Tamils outside of Sri Lanka. Holding up banners decrying the Sri Lankan military’s latest […]

Jan 28, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are to launch a programme to fight corruption, a UNDP statement said.The project, called ‘Support Efforts and Action against Corruption in Sri Lanka’ (SEAC) will be a three-year effort aimed at combating corruption and promoting accountability and transparency in public […]

NEW DELHI, January 27, 2009 (AFP) – India’s foreign minister was set to visit Sri Lanka Tuesday as the Tamil Tiger rebels struggled to defend their last remaining strongholds, the Press Trust of India reported.Pranab Mukherjee was expected to meet Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse to push for a lasting political solution to the long-running […]