Category: Politics

Jan 17, 2007 (LBO) — Sri Lanka Air Force jets have bombed a meeting place of Tiger leaders in the northern guerilla stronghold of Kilinochchi Thursday, the military said. The defence ministry said the target was a gathering of “senior leaders’ at Jayapoor near Kilinochchi at 09.30 am. Yesterday the guerillas blasted a bus and […]

Jan 16, 2007 (LBO) – A roadside bomb killed 26 people traveling in a bus in southeastern Sri Lanka while three soldiers were injured from a second bomb targeting a military vehicle Wednesday as a truce with Tamil Tigers officially ended, police said Civilians wounded in the attack on the bus which was packed with […]

Jan 16, 2008 (LBO) – Tamil Tiger attacks which killed at least 28 civilians in south-eastern Sri Lanka Wednesday were condemned by the government as well as the United States. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in a statement, condemned the attacks and called on the people to be vigilant “in the face of provocation by […]

Jan 16, 2007 (LBO) — A public passenger bus has been caught in a blast Wednesday morning in Sri Lanka’s Moneragala district, the defence ministry said as a ceasefire with the Tamil Tigers officially drew to a close.A ceasefire with the Tamil Tigers struck in 2002 officially ends today after the Sri Lanka gave notice […]

Jan 16, 2008 (AFP) – Twenty people were killed and many others injured Wednesday in a suspected Tamil Tiger bomb attack on a crowded bus in southwest Sri Lanka, as a ceasefire with the Tigers officially drew to a close, officials said.“At least 20 people have been killed and several are injured.It was a state-run […]

Jan 15, 2008 (LBO) – The World Bank is giving funds to Sri Lankan civil society organizations for projects that will focus on bringing about a sustainable peace. The bank said in a statement its Civil Society Fund, formerly the Small Grants Program, plans to award seven grants of up to $5,000 (about Rs. 500,000) […]

COLOMBO, Jan 14, 2008 (AFP) – A Japanese peace envoy began a second day of talks with Sri Lankan leaders Monday as the world community stepped up pressure over Colombo’s decision to abandon a truce with the Tamil Tiger rebels. The talks began as government warplanes bombed suspected rebel intelligence hideouts and fighting raged in […]

Jan 14, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government Monday told a visiting Japanese peace envoy that there was no immediate need to proscribe the Tamil Tigers. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement the government was going ahead with its plans to present peace proposals despite its withdrawal from a ceasefire with […]

Jan 13, 2008 (AFP) – Japan’s peace envoy opened talks in Sri Lanka on Sunday, hinting international donors may hold back much-needed foreign aid if the island’s decades-long ethnic conflict escalates, officials said. Yasushi Akashi, who arrived in Sri Lanka for three days of crucial talks on Sunday, met the Marxist JVP, the main left […]

Jan 12, 2008 (AFP) – Intense fighting across Sri Lanka’s embattled northern district have left at least 39 rebels and soldiers dead, the military said Saturday, ahead of a planned visit by a Japanese peace envoy.Japan, the island’s biggest aid donor, has voiced deep concern about the Colombo government’s decision last week to end its […]

Jan 12, 2008 (LBO) — Sri Lanka does not have enough policemen to fully secure Colombo and public help is needed to fill the manpower gap in the capital, the island’s police chief said.“At moment Colombo has been given more policemen than other areas.But that is not enough, Inspector General Victor Perera told journalists. “They […]

Jan 12, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s main financial backers Saturday voiced concern over the mounting bloodshed and called for a United Nations presence in the island. Japan, the United States, the European Union and Norway — the quartet known as the co-chairs — also expressed “deep concern” about rights abuses and called on Sri […]