Category: Politics

SYDNEY, June 28, 2014 (AFP) – Refugee campaigners said Saturday that a boat carrying 153 asylum-seekers was in trouble off a remote Australian island, but the government said there were no significant incidents at sea to report.The 72-foot (22-metre) boat carrying mostly Tamil asylum-seekers, including women and children, left India two weeks ago and was […]

June 27, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Chamber Chamber of Commerce said incumbent chairman Suresh Shah who was re-elected had called on private business to build peace and harmony.His call comes in the wake of rising nationalism in the country and recent mob attacks on minorities that left three people dead. “I call upon […]

June 27, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has offered to train soldiers, teachers and provide scholarships for students and had talks on building coast guard boats for Maldives following a visit by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to the country.The president’s media office said Defence and National Security Minister of Maldives Mohamed Nazim had requested Sri Lanka […]

COLOMBO, June 24, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lankan authorities are to dig up the site of a suspected mass grave next week after claims it contains the bodies of scores of Muslims killed by Tamil rebels 24 years ago, police said Tuesday.The Muslim community, which accounts for around 10 percent of the island’s population and […]

COLOMBO, June 20, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Muslim minority held shortened Friday prayer services as religious tensions gripped the island after clashes with hardline Buddhists killed four people, an official said. The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka (MCSL) said Islamic clerics instructed mosques to conduct shorter services and asked the faithful to disperse peacefully […]

BERUWALA, June 18, 2014 (AFP) – The main Muslim party in Sri Lanka’s ruling coalition Wednesday demanded a UN probe into one of the country’s worst-ever religious riots, as President Mahinda Rajapakse toured the violence-hit resort region. The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) said it was also boycotting parliament Wednesday as a protest against Colombo’s […]

COLOMBO, June 18, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s parliament Wednesday rejected a UN-mandated investigation into alleged war crimes while crushing separatist Tamil rebels five years ago.Ruling party lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to resist a probe by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in line with a US-initiated censure move in March. […]

ALUTGAMA, June 18, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s police arrested 49 people overnight over deadly anti-Muslim riots in a tourist region where Buddhist hardliners have set shops and homes ablaze, a senior officer said Wednesday. Both Buddhists and Muslims were arrested during a police crackdown in the southern resort towns, where two nights of violence […]

ALUTGAMA, June 17, 2014 (AFP) – More deadly violence flared in a Sri Lankan coastal resort where Buddhist hardliners set shops and homes alight for a second night running in defiance of a curfew, police and residents said Tuesday.Amid mounting international concern at the unrest, residents of a town which has borne the brunt said […]

June 16, 2014 (LBO) – The United States has condemned nationalist violence that has left at least three people dead and dozens injured with Muslim house and shops burnt. The statement is reproduced below: U S. Embassy Statement on Aluthgama & Beruwela Violence The U.S. Embassy condemns the violence that has spread over the weekend […]

ALUTGAMA, June 16, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lankan police extended a curfew in a popular tourist region Monday after at least 80 people were injured and dozens of Muslim-owned shops and homes torched when a Buddhist mob went on the rampage. Authorities said the curfew would stay in place for a second night running in […]

ALUTGAMA, June 16, 2014 (AFP) – Clashes between Buddhists and Muslims in southern Sri Lanka has left three people dead and at least 78 others seriously wounded, the justice minister said Monday. Police fired teargas and imposed a curfew but were unable to prevent several dozen shops and homes being attacked. Both areas are popular […]