Category: Politics

Aug 27, 2013 (LBO)- Sri Lanka has signed a series of bilateral deals involving trade, taxation, tourism and defence co-operation following a visit by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to Belarus.Agreements on trade and economic co-operation, avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion, tourism and technical co-operation on military affairs had been signed, the media […]

COLOMBO, August 25, 2013 (AFP) – The UN’s top rights official began her visit to Sri Lanka Sunday by brushing aside criticism that she overstepped her brief and vowing to raise human rights concerns with Colombo.Navi Pillay, who has previously called for a war crimes investigation against Sri Lanka, said she was only holding it […]

COLOMBO, August 26, 2013 (AFP) – Buddhist monks led protests in the Sri Lankan capital Monday against the UN’s top rights official, who began a fact-finding mission to the country following concerns about war crimes.Dozens of monks and pro-government activists staged the noisy demonstration outside UN offices, accusing the international community of drumming up false […]

MUMBAI, August 24, 2013 (AFP) – A Bollywood spy thriller set against the backdrop of the Sri Lankan civil war has been pulled from British and some Indian theatres after protests over its depiction of rebel fighters, the movie’s distributors said Saturday. The bloody conflict in Sri Lanka, which cost up to 100,000 lives, erupted […]

August 25, 2013 (AFP) – The UN’s top rights official begins a fact-finding mission to Sri Lanka on Sunday after the government dropped public hostility towards her and promised access to former war zones.Navi Pillay, who has previously been accused by Colombo of overstepping her mandate, is on a week-long mission that will include talks […]

Aug 22, 2013 (LBO) – Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-Won will visit Sri Lanka from August 28, the country’s embassy in Colombo said.It will be the first official visit by a prime minister of Korea after the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1977. He will hold talks with Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa, participate […]

COLOMBO, August 18, 2013 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan media rights group on Sunday accused the military of intimidating journalists who reported a deadly army crackdown on villagers protesting at contaminated water supplies.Residents of Weliweriya, the village 20 kilometers (12 miles) northeast of Colombo, have also told Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Council of their fear […]

Aug 13, 2013 (LBO) – The European Union Delegation in Sri Lanka has expressed concern over the killing of unarmed protestors by the military and series of attacks on mosques and churches by religious nationalists. “The right to freedom of peaceful assembly and the right to freedom of worship are fundamental to democratic societies and […]

COLOMBO, August 12, 2013 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Muslim leaders closed down a new mosque in Colombo on Monday after attacks by a Buddhist mob revived simmering religious tensions and sparked US concern.The Sri Lanka Muslim Council said it had agreed to shut its Grandpass mosque and move to an older place of worship which […]

COLOMBO, August 11, 2013 (AFP) – Sri Lankan police lifted a curfew on a Colombo neighbourhood Sunday after a Buddhist-led mob attack on a mosque raised religious tensions and left the Muslim minority fearing further violence.Hundreds of police, including anti-riot squads and elite Special Task Force commandos, remained on alert in the Grandpass district following […]

August 11, 2013 (AFP) – Sri Lankan police clamped a fresh curfew on a Colombo neighbourhood Sunday, a day after a Buddhist-led mob vandalised a mosque in an incident that raised religious tensions and sparked US concern.All four people injured in the attack, including two police constables guarding the mosque, remained in hospital Sunday. Residents […]

COLOMBO, August 10, 2013 (AFP) – Sri Lankan police deployed commandos and imposed a curfew on a Colombo neighbourhood Saturday after a Buddhist-led mob attacked a mosque, wounding four people and reviving simmering religious tensions, officials said. Police sources said elite Special Task Force commandos were deployed to help maintain law and order following mob […]