Category: Politics

WASHINGTON, May 10, 2007 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan national pleaded guilty in a Maryland court Thursday to charges he tried to smuggle US weapons to Tamil Tiger rebels, the US Justice Department announced.Thirunavukarasu Varatharasa, 37, pleaded guilty to attempted export of arms and munitions and to conspiracy to support the Tamil Tigers, a group […]

May 11, 2007 (AFP) – Human Rights Watch on Friday renewed a call for independent foreign monitoring of human rights in Sri Lanka, where hundreds of people have been killed by unidentified gunmen.The New York-based watchdog said international monitors should be able to report publicly on the abuses by Tamil Tiger guerrillas, a breakaway faction […]

May 10, 2007 (AFP) – Former Sri Lanka president Chandrika Kumaratunga has protested the withdrawal of commandos assigned to protect her, saying she was still a target for assassination.She retained a staff of 198 and used 36 vehicles after stepping down. The constitution allows a former president to use two cars and a staff of […]

COLOMBO, May 10, 2007 (AFP) – The United States Thursday accused Sri Lanka of going back on promises to protect human rights and said the situation in the embattled island had “deteriorated” in the past year.Visiting US diplomat Richard Boucher said there was more bloodshed and that the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse had failed […]

May 8, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops shot dead a suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber in the north of the island on Tuesday as ground battles raged elsewhere in the region, a military official said.Security forces killed the man who was riding a motorcycle in Vavuniya district. An official, speaking from the area by […]

May 8, 2007 (AFP) – The United States is to raise concerns about human rights in Sri Lanka during a state visit that follows international concern over extra-judicial killings, diplomats said Tuesday.US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, who was due to arrive later Tuesday, will hold talks with President Mahinda Rajapakse, addressing the island’s […]

May 7, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka was ready to negotiate a fresh ceasefire with Tamil Tiger rebels as the Norwegian-brokered truce had virtually collapsed, a government minister said Monday. Defence ministry spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said the ceasefire arranged and put in place by Norway from February 2002 had been violated more than 10,000 times […]

May 07, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Monday accused a United Nations agency of trying to shield what it called the ‘criminal acts’ of the Tamil Tigers by not reporting two of its staffers had been abducted by the guerrillas. Minister of Foreign Affairs Rohitha Bogollagama said in a statement the government was concerned by […]

May 6, 2007 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces were locked in combat in Sri Lanka’s northeast Sunday with both sides claiming heavy losses against each other. A landmine detonated by Tamil Tigers killed three police commandos in eastern Sri Lanka on Sunday, the defence ministry said. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam […]

May 7, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan war planes Monday bombed suspected Tamil Tiger positions in the island’s north where heavy ground battles were raging, a military spokesman said.Supersonic jets hit positions near Iranamadu where the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) maintain a clandestine airfield, spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe said. He said a Tiger […]

COLOMBO, May 6, 2007 (AFP) – A landmine detonated by Tamil Tigers killed three police commandos in eastern Sri Lanka on Sunday while seven suspected rebels died elsewhere in the embattled region, the defence ministry said.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) attack blew up a police Special Task Force vehicle in Batticaloa district killing […]

May 6, 2007 (AFP) – More than 125,000 people have been driven out of their homes and 16 killed following flash floods in the Sri Lankan capital and neighbouring areas, officials said Sunday. The Disaster Management Centre said at least 50,000 residents of Colombo were affected by heavy rains on Thursday and Friday. More than […]