Category: Politics
Sri Lanka scraps emergency laws, US cheers
August 25, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president announced on Thursday that he was scrapping draconian emergency laws imposed nearly 30 years ago to deal with the armed Tamil separatist movement. The move, which was welcomed by the United States, comes as Sri Lanka faces growing pressure — led by Washington — over its human […]
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August 26, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s main opposition, which is bedeviled by a string of electoral defeats and an internal battle to oust its leader, says its door-to-door campaign is haunted by a phobia among voters about ‘grease devils’. ‘Grease devil’ is a colloquial term used to describe peeping toms and other mischief makers […]
US envoy to press Sri Lanka over alleged war crimes
August 26, 2011 (AFP) – The United States is dispatching a top envoy to Colombo for talks next week ahead of a crucial UN meeting to discuss alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, diplomats said on Friday. US Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake will be visiting Sri Lanka for a second time in four […]
100 arrests over Sri Lanka sex offender scare
August 23, 2011 (AFP) – Police carried out mass arrests in northern Sri Lanka on Tuesday after residents clashed with troops alleged to have protected so-called “grease devil” sex offenders, officials said. At least 102 men were taken into custody in the Jaffna region when residents smashed two military vehicles, in a protest against the […]
Sri Lanka, US military host Asia military airlift exercise
Aug 11, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka and the United States will co-host a regional military airlift exercise in the island from August 22 to 26 to strengthen disaster relief co-ordination between the US and Asia. Pacific Airlift Rally (PAR) is a biennial, military airlift symposium sponsored by US Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) for states […]
Concern over loss of treasured freedoms, big brother state, in US
CHICAGO, August 16, 2011 (AFP) – Sweeping new policing powers, the tacit acceptance of torture and a backlash against Muslims that has grown fiercer 10 years after the September 11 attacks have made the United States a less free and open society. The erosion of fundamental American values along with massive — and what some […]
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August 7, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry plans to protest to the United States after fighter jets intruded into the island’s airspace last week, the local Sunday Times newspaper said. The Sunday Times said the External Affairs Ministry planned to hand a protest note to the US embassy in Colombo. The squadron of […]
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GENEVA, August 4, 2011 (AFP) – Two rights groups said Thursday they have brought to Swiss authorities a criminal complaint against a Sri Lankan diplomat and former general, Jagath Dias, over alleged war crimes. The Swiss attorney-general’s office confirmed that it has received the complaint filed by the Society for Threatened Peoples and TRIAL (Track […]
US deficit spenders descend to last refuge
WASHINGTON, August 3, 2011 (AFP) – “Terrorist” US lawmakers; Tea Party conservatives holding the nation “hostage;” Republicans “hijacking” the debt deal. Is this any way to conduct a political debate? The Politico news website said Vice President Joe Biden, who attended the meeting, used the term, although he and the White House denied it. Doyle […]
Sri Lanka accused of war report whitewash
August 2, 2011 (AFP) – Human rights campaigners on Tuesday accused Sri Lanka of whitewashing military abuses in its official report on the island’s decades-long ethnic war, which ended in May 2009. A defence ministry report released on Monday admitted for the first time that civilians may have been killed during the war, though the […]
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August 1, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Monday released its own documentary to counter a programme by Britain’s Channel 4 that alleged war crimes by government troops in their final assault on Tamil Tiger rebels. The hour-long video, produced by the Defence Ministry and called “Lies Agreed Upon”, was shown to an invited audience […]
Sri Lanka admits civilian deaths in separatist war
August 1, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Monday admitted for the first time that civilians may have been killed during its military push against Tamil Tigers rebels in 2009 that has been dogged by allegations of war crimes. A defence ministry report entitled “Humanitarian operation factual analysis” said they followed a “zero civilian casualty […]