Category: Politics

COLOMBO, March 30, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s ruling party was headed for victory in local elections but with smaller than expected margins in a crucial mid-term test for President Mahinda Rajapakse, early results showed Sunday.The ruling party had tried to turn Saturday’s vote into a referendum on a UN Human Rights Council’s resolution last […]

COLOMBO, March 28, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president Friday ordered the release of Indian fishermen detained for poaching after New Delhi surprisingly refused to back a US-led censure motion against Colombo at the UN’s top rights body.The exact number of fishermen who were released was not immediately known but several dozens are thought to […]

COLOMBO, March 28, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka tried to claim a moral victory Friday and insisted it would push on with reconciliation efforts after being censured by the UN’s top rights body for failing to bring perpetrators of war crimes to justice.The US-initiated resolution was carried at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva […]

Mar 27, (LBO) – The following is a statement from US Secretary of State John Kerry on UN resolution on Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan people are resilient. They have demonstrated grit and determination through years of war. Now, they are demanding democracy and prosperity in years of peace. They deserve that chance. The United […]

Mar 27, 2013 (LBO) – India abstained on voting on a resolution on Sri Lanka’s human rights which called for a external probe. The full statement is reproduced below:- India’s Explanation of Vote on Resolution œPromoting Reconciliation, Accountability, and Human Rights in Sri Lanka (A/HRC/25/L.1/Rev.1) Mr. President, 1. The UN Human Rights Council has adopted […]

COLOMBO, March 27, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse rejected Thursday’s UN Human Rights Council resolution ordering a war crimes probe, telling AFP that he would instead press ahead with his own reconciliation plan.“We reject this,” Rajapakse said. “This resolution only hurts our reconciliation efforts.It does not help. “But I am not discouraged. […]

GENEVA, March 27, 2014 (AFP) – The UN Human Rights Council on Thursday launched an inquiry into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, despite Colombo’s fierce efforts to block an investigation.But they question the credibility of his efforts to come clean on the past and to stem what they say are ongoing rights violations. “The […]

COLOMBO, March 26, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka faces fresh condemnation at the United Nations’ top human rights body this week in a move that observers say could lead to an international criminal investigation for war crimes.A US-led resolution demanding accountability for thousands of deaths of ethnic Tamil civilians five years ago is almost certain […]

COLOMBO, March 19, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has released two leading rights activists after their detention under strict anti-terrorism laws triggered international condemnation, police and supporters said on Wednesday. Sri Lanka has previously said it needs more time to address issues of accountability and reconciliation after ending the 37-year conflict, which according to UN […]

COLOMBO, March 17, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has arrested two leading rights activists including a Catholic priest under anti-terrorism laws, police and campaigners said Monday, ahead of an expected UN censure later this month.Father Praveen Mahesan, head of the Peace and Reconciliation Centre in the war-torn Jaffna region, and Ruki Fernando of the Colombo-based […]

GENEVA, March 5, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Wednesday dismissed a UN report calling for an international probe into allegations of war crimes at the end of its civil war as “fundamentally flawed.” Foreign Minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris said his government rejected a report from UN human rights chief Navi Pillay “in its entirety,” […]

COLOMBO, March 4, 2014 (AFP) – A US-led resolution calling for an international probe into allegations that 40,000 civilians were killed at the end of Sri Lanka’s separatist war has been filed with the UN’s top rights body. The resolution is “totally based on information of questionable veracity”, the monks said in a petition to […]