Category: Politics

June 8, 2007 (AFP) – Human rights activists accused Sri Lanka’s government Friday of imposing a “collective punishment” on its minority Tamil community after forcing hundreds of them out of the capital. Activists and opposition politicians said the expulsions from Colombo, a measure the government said was to prevent Tiger terror attacks, had added to […]

June 6, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse held talks in Colombo Wednesday with a top Japanese envoy on the future of the island’s peace process following bloody recent clashes, officials said.Rajapakse held closed-door talks with Japan’s Yasushi Akashi at the president’s tightly-guarded Temple Trees residence and the peace envoy later had discussions […]

June 7, 2007 (AFP) – A top Japanese envoy to Sri Lanka met with officials and aid workers in the island’s embattled eastern region Thursday following talks with President Mahinda Rajapakse on the tattered peace process.Yasushi Akashi’s visit to the lagoon district of Batticaloa came on the same day that two murdered Red Cross workers […]

June 6, 2007 (AFP) – A bomb exploded under a passenger train in Sri Lanka’s embattled east on Wednesday, wounding at least four people, military officials said.A mine buried along the track went off as the train was at Navaladi in the the coastal district of Batticaloa, a military official in the area said by […]

June 06, 2007 (LBO) – The international Policy Network (IPN), a London based think tank, is calling for writers who promote institutions for free society to take part in their annual competition. IPN’s Bastiat Prize for Journalism had been inspired by the 19th-century French philosopher and journalist Frédéric Bastiat. Last year writers from 49 countries […]

June 6, 2007 (AFP) – Red Cross offices across Sri Lanka stopped work Wednesday as a mark of respect for two colleagues gunned down last week.Sri Lankan Red Cross workers Sinnarasa Shanmugalingam and Karthekesu Chandramohan were abducted in Colombo on Friday and murdered by armed men claiming to be police. They were working in the […]

UNITED NATIONS, June 4, 2007 (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon condemns the killings of two Red Cross employees in Sri Lanka and demands a thorough police investigation, his office said Monday. “The Secretary General condemns the brutal killings of two workers of the Sri Lankan Red Cross and …demands a thorough investigation by the […]

June 5, 2007 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels set off a roadside bomb in eastern Sri Lanka Tuesday, killing a senior police official in an attack that coincided with a visit to the area by the US ambassador, the military said.A police chief inspector was killed and his sub-inspector wounded when they were ambushed at […]

June 5, 2007 (AFP) – A top Japanese envoy arrived in war-torn Sri Lanka Tuesday to try and restore a tattered peace process after some of the bloodiest battles between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels this year.The rebels say they are fighting for an independent homeland for the tropical island’s minority Tamils.Overall, the 35-year-old […]

June 3, 2007 (AFP) – Tiger rebels destroyed army bases in northern Sri Lanka leaving 82 combatants dead according to both sides Sunday as the island’s main aid donor, Japan, was set to launch a fresh peace bid.More than 60,000 people have been killed in the conflict.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said they […]

June 4, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels were engaged in sporadic clashes in the north of the island Monday, the day after fierce battles left scores of fighters dead, official sources said.Following the guarantees, the aid groups from the US, UN and European Union among others agreed to return […]

June 04, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s top business chamber Monday called for unity to help the island overcome the violence that has gripped the country and reiterated its support for a bipartisan approach to solve the ethnic problem. The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce said in a statement it condemns all forms of violence and […]