Category: Politics
Sri Lanka monks join anti-pension protests
June 3, 2011 (AFP) – Hundreds of Buddhist monks took to the streets of Sri Lanka’s capital Friday to express solidarity with factory workers protesting a controversial pensions bill. The legislation sparked clashes with police on Monday in which a factory worker was fatally shot and more than 150 were wounded. Saffron-robed clergy marched to […]
” war crime claims
June 2, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s top military commander offered on Thursday to probe “specific allegations” of war crimes during the country’s fight against Tamil Tiger separatists that ended two years ago. Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya said no civilians were killed by his forces, but he was open to investigating alleged rights abuses in […]
Sri Lanka military says switched to unorthodox tactics to win war
June 02, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s armed forces developed new, unorthodox tactics and techniques to win the war against Tamil Tiger separatists, learning from 30 years of battlefield experience, senior officers said. Field commanders and troops learned to be flexible and sometimes ignored conventional wisdom in the almost three-year military campaign that crushed the […]
Sri Lanka welfare spending seen helping raise support for war
May 31, 2011 (LBO) – A government fertiliser subsidy given to farmers was a key factor in generating public support for Sri Lanka’s military campaign that defeated Tamil Tiger separatists, a defence official said. The Indian and Sri Lankan governments maintained close ties and clear communications lines at the highest levels that ensured any issues […]
”’ seminar skipped by key nations
May 30, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka is to hold an international seminar starting Tuesday to share lessons on its bloody defeat of Tamil rebels, but major nations have declined to send delegations amid war crime allegations. The island’s government said the massive military offensive that finally defeated the Tamil Tigers two years ago was […]
Sri Lanka leader vows to defend troops on war crime claims
May 27, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Friday vowed to defend his military from war crimes allegations as the island marked the second year of its victory over Tamil Tiger rebels. “We will not betray you to the world,” Rajapakse told troops during a colourful military parade at Colombo’s seafront Galle […]
Sri Lanka warned against alienating India
May 25, 2011 (LBO) – India will destabilise Sri Lanka again if the island endangers her big neighbour’s geo-strategic interests in future just like New Delhi initially sponsored Tamil separatists, an international terrorism expert has warned. He referred to how India is seen to have supported violent groups in Pakistan and Bangladesh as well as […]
Sri Lanka anti-terror seminar faces boycott call
May 24, 2011 (AFP) – A leading human rights group urged governments on Tuesday to boycott a conference on fighting insurgents organised by Sri Lanka, which wants to share its experience of defeating separatist militants. Sri Lanka will host the three-day meeting “Defeating Terrorism – Sri Lanka Experience” in the capital Colombo next Tuesday and […]
Sri Lanka intercepts Tamil Tiger propaganda
May 17, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lankan authorities on Tuesday detained a Canada-bound container with a cargo of propaganda material for the island’s Tamil Tiger rebels, a police official said. Police were asked to investigate the consignment of promotional material for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), on its way to Canada from the […]
Sri Lanka urged by India to probe rights record
NEW DELHI, May 17, 2011 (AFP) – India broke with past practice on Tuesday and called on Sri Lanka to investigate allegations of human rights abuses during the island’s civil war, upping pressure on President Mahinda Rajapakse. India has not joined recent demands from the United Nations and Western countries for a probe into alleged […]
Sri Lanka frees 850 prisoners on Buddhist holiday
May 17, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka freed 858 convicts on Tuesday to mark the most important day in the Buddhist calendar, a prison official said. President Mahinda Rajapakse granted freedom to 13 women and 845 men held at 29 prisons across the country to commemorate Vesak, which marks Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death, commissioner […]
Australia defends Malaysia asylum seekers plan
SYDNEY, May 8, 2011 (AFP) – Australia on Sunday defended plans to send hundreds of asylum seekers to Malaysia, saying it was an important signal to people smugglers, but refugee advocates slammed the proposal as cruel. Australia wants to transfer 800 boat people to Malaysia for processing as part of a yet-to-be-finalised one-off deal which […]