Category: Politics
UN official visits Sri Lanka refugee camps
September 17, 2009 (AFP) – A top UN official toured camps holding thousands of war-displaced civilians in northern Sri Lanka on Thursday, amid international concern over delays in resettling the refugees.UN under secretary general for political affairs Lynn Pascoe, who arrived here late Wednesday, travelled to the northwestern district of Mannar and was to visit […]
Top UN official to press Sri Lanka for rights probe
September 16, 2009 (AFP) – A top UN official was expected in Sri Lanka Wednesday to press for a probe into possible rights abuses during the final stages of the military’s victory over Tamil rebels.UN under secretary general for political affairs Lynn Pascoe was sent by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon who has voiced concern […]
Sri Lanka demands EU trade concessions without rights probe
September 15, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka will not submit to an investigation into its rights record to qualify for extended trade concessions from the European Union, a government minister said Tuesday.The deputy minister of state revenue, finance and planning, Ranjith Siyambalapitiya, said Colombo wanted an extension of the EU generalised system of preferences (GSP […]
UN urges Sri Lanka to free its staff, respect human rights
UNITED NATIONS, September 11, 2009 (AFP) – The United Nations on Thursday called on Sri Lanka to respect the human rights of two UN employees who have been held without charge since June on suspicion of collaborating with Tamil separatists. One of them, Charles Raveendran Navaratnam, was working for the UN refugee agency UNHCR in […]
Sri Lankan court frees Tiger officials on bail
September 11, 2009 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan court on Friday released on bail two members of the Tamil Tiger rebel group who gave themselves up a month before the military leadership of their movement was wiped out, officials said.Court officials said former Tiger spokesman Velayudam Dayanidi, better known as Daya Master, and a top […]
‘s Sri Lanka expulsion
UNITED NATIONS, September 8, 2009 (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon Tuesday denounced a decision by the Sri Lankan government to expel a UNICEF spokesman, who allegedly took a pro-rebel stance at the end of the island’s ethnic war. “The secretary-general strongly regrets the decision of the Sri Lankan government to expel Mr.James Elder,” Ban’s […]
Sri Lanka gets US help to clear mines
Sept 09, 2009 (LBO) – The United States military’s Pacific Command is providing training and equipment to the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to helps it clear landmines in the island’s former war zone, the US embassy said. This training will build additional SLA capacity to clear mines in the Northern Province and expedite the safe […]
” UN official expulsion: official
September 7, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka is reviewing a move to expel a senior United Nations official over comments he made during the final weeks of the country’s decades long ethnic war, a senior official said Monday.James Elder, communications chief for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), was ordered out of the country for […]
Sri Lanka expels UN official over war comments
September 6, 2009 (AFP) – The Sri Lankan government said on Sunday it had ordered a senior United Nations official to leave the country over comments he made about the recently ended war against Tamil Tiger separatist rebels. James Elder, spokesman for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), appeared regularly on foreign television news channels […]
Sri Lanka strengthens navy to deter overseas threats
Sept 05, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s navy commissioned 90 officers and an offshore patrol vessel last weekend as it continues to expand, having defeated the powerful Tamil Tiger naval wing.Senior defence officials said the navy’s future focus will be on protecting the island’s ocean resources and patrolling the surrounding seas to ensure terrorism, which […]
Sri Lanka imports machines to clear mines
September 5, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has imported equipment to speed up mine clearing in the former war zone in the island’s north, the defence ministry said Saturday. The mine-clearing machines imported from Slovakia would be used to accelerate resettlement of people driven out of the area during the height of fighting, the ministry […]
UN chief, minister discuss plight of displaced Sri Lankans
UNITED NATIONS, September 3, 2009 (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon met with a Sri Lankan minister in Geneva Thursday to discuss the plight of civilians displaced by the government defeat of the Tamil separatist insurgency earlier this year, his press office said. But she added that UN officials could not confirm its authenticity. The […]