Category: Politics

December 13, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamils expressed concern on Monday over a media report suggesting that the government was set to ban singing the national anthem in their language. Language and discrimination were key issues used by the Tamil Tiger separatists to gain popular support for their campaign. The main Tamil party, the […]

December 9, 2010 (AFP) – A six-year-old girl found at a house in Colombo is believed to have been sold by a hospital worker soon after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Sri Lankan child protection authorities said Thursday. Staff at the National Child Protection Authority went to the house after neighbours complained that the girl […]

KIEV, December 9, 2010 (AFP) – Ukraine will send a diplomat to the Nobel peace prize ceremony for jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiabo, a foreign ministry official said Thursday, after Kiev initially joined a boycott led by China. Ukraine will send the first secretary of the Ukrainian embassy in Norway to the ceremony on Friday, […]

Dec 10, 2010 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan customs officer who was gunned down after he exposed corruption in the customs service was posthumously awarded the National Integrity Award by the corruption watchdog Transparency International. “Corruption is deep rooted in human greed. The temptations and opportunities for corruption are greater today than ever before. Faced […]

OSLO, December 7, 2010 (AFP) – Nineteen countries will shun Friday’s Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo for jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Institute said, following Chinese pressure for a global boycott. “You only have to look at the figures. The vast majority of countries invited will be represented,” Nobel Institute director Geir […]

BANGKOK, December 8, 2010 (AFP) – Thai authorities said Wednesday they had arrested 45 migrants from Sri Lanka in the latest of a series of crackdowns in recent months. Sri Lanka’s crackdown on the Tamil Tigers, which ended a lengthy civil war last year, has resulted in a flood of people seeking asylum in other […]

December 2, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government lambasted the prestigious Oxford Union Thursday for cancelling a talk by President Mahinda Rajapakse following protests from ethnic Tamil groups. Rajapakse was scheduled to make a speech to the union, Oxford University’s debating society, which has hosted speakers ranging from Michael Jackson to the Dalai Lama, but […]

December 3, 2010 (AFP) – Hundreds of ruling party activists demonstrated at the British embassy in Colombo Friday to denounce Oxford University’s debating society for cancelling a talk by President Mahinda Rajapakse. “Down with anti-Sri Lanka policy! ” shouted activists led by Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa, who spearheaded protests against the United Nations in July […]

Dec 03, 2010 (LBO) – The United States has consistently called on Sri Lanka to have a credible probe into alleged war crimes during its war against Tamil Tiger separatists, a statement from the US embassy said. The statement was issued after news reports that US Ambassador Patricia Butenis reportedly cast doubt whether Sri Lanka […]

December 1, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s President expressed regret after the Oxford Union cancelled a scheduled speech by him amid security concerns, his office said in a statement Wednesday. Rajapakse had travelled to London on Tuesday ahead of an address to the prestigious Oxford Union on Thursday, but the organisers said security considerations forced […]

WASHINGTON, December 1, 2010 (AFP) – The United States questioned if Sri Lanka would thoroughly probe war crimes allegations as the accusations involve President Mahinda Rajapakse and other top leaders, WikiLeaks said Wednesday. The controversial website, citing one of thousands of diplomatic cables it obtained, said US Ambassador Patricia Butenis saw some progress in Sri […]

November 29, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s parliament approved the country’s first fully-fledged post-war budget on Monday with a two-thirds majority, officials said. Rajapakse, who has a strong grip on power in Sri Lanka after overseeing the defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels in May last year, raised taxes on casinos, alcohol and international phone calls. […]