Category: Politics

Jan 15, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s opposition presidential hopeful retired general Sarath Fonseka has said he may have to play referee between pro free market United National Party and Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna. JVP is credited with key initiatives of the post-2004 economic program which proposed expanding state employment, subsidizing fuel and pushing state […]

January 12, 2010 (AFP) – Gunmen in Sri Lanka on Tuesday opened fire on a bus carrying supporters of the main opposition presidential candidate, killing one political activist, police said. Several other people were wounded when unidentified attackers sprayed bullets into the vehicle of campaigners backing Sarath Fonseka, who was not in the area at […]

Jan 13, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s post independence constitutions of 1972 and 1978 and the scrapping of the institution of permanent secretaries has usurped the rule of law and destroyed the impartiality of the public service, a rights body has said. Above the Law Fernando says the 1978 constitution where the president was placed […]

January 13, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lankan police Wednesday broke up clashes between political activists as violence linked to looming presidential polls escalated after gunmen shot dead an opposition party worker. Tear-gas was fired to disperse thousands of party workers in the eastern town of Polonnaruwa, local officials said by telephone. About 3,000 opposition supporters […]

Jan 12, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s president Mahinda Rajapaksa said he wanted to make Sri Lanka ‘Asia’s miracle’ if elected to a second term and also vowed to combat corruption, a key battle cry of the island’s opposition. “We want to change people leaving the country and make it an attraction for people,” Rajapaksa […]

January 12, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president on Tuesday offered concessions to ethnic Tamil demands for greater autonomy ahead of elections in which the minority community could play a decisive role. But as the architect of the military victory, Fonseka can also lay claim to credit for ending the conflict. Fonseka has offered to […]

January 11, 2010 (AFP) – For decades, Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels fought for an independent ethnic homeland. In May they were defeated, but observers say Tamil voters could now be key to who becomes the next president. The two main candidates — incumbent Mahinda Rajapakse and former army chief Sarath Fonseka — both claim […]

UNITED NATIONS, January 7, 2010 (AFP) – A UN envoy concluded Thursday that video footage allegedly showing Sri Lankan troops executing Tamil Tiger rebels last year was authentic and urged Colombo to accept an impartial probe. The video, aired on Britain’s Channel 4 in August, “is authentic,” Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, […]

January 8, 2010 (AFP) – International media rights groups criticised Sri Lanka on Friday for failing to identify the assassins of a top anti-establishment editor who was killed exactly a year ago. The Paris-based RSF (Reporters Without Borders) said the authorities had failed to make any headway in solving the killing of Lasantha Wickrematunge, the […]

January 7, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s former army chief on Thursday launched his manifesto for the January 26 presidential elections, promising greater press freedom and a battle against rampant corruption. Sarath Fonseka, 59, the main opposition challenger to President Mahinda Rajapakse, said he would scrap the press council which is empowered to shut down […]

January 6, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s former army chief received a boost to his presidential ambitions Wednesday when minority Tamil parties said they would back him against incumbent Mahinda Rajapakse in polls later this month. Fonseka and Rajapakse have been at loggerheads since the end of the conflict. Fonseka quit after accusing the government […]

January 5, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s main opposition vowed on Tuesday to immediately end the state of emergency that has been in place on the island for 27 years if its presidential candidate wins this month’s election. The opposition’s candidate, Sarath Fonseka, will scrap the tough laws that have been in effect almost continuously […]