Category: Politics
‘s war refugee camps flooded: govt official
August 16, 2009 (AFP) – Heavy rains flooded camps housing some of Sri Lanka’s 300,000 war refugees, officials said Sunday, raising fears for the welfare of the detainees.She said a section of the Manik Farm camp was the worst hit by the floods as the drainage system was only half built. The privately-run Sunday Times […]
Sri Lanka lawmaker says election spending should be capped
Aug 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should cap election spending to prevent honest politicians being crowded out and criminal elements entering the parliament, a breakaway ruling party politician has said. “One of the proposals I have submitted for consideration for the next manifesto is to have some form of a cap for election spending […]
US gives food aid to speed up refugee settlement
Aug 10, 2009 (LBO) – The United States said it had donated another 15 million dollars of food to help resettle people displaced by Sri Lanka’s ethnic war whose early return to their homes Washington is pressing for. The US embassy said in a statement the aid through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), […]
Sri Lanka coast guard sets up bases
Aug 10, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s new coast guard has begun setting up bases and will get vessels from the navy for initial patrol work to protect ocean resources and for maritime security, its director-general Daya Dharmapriya said. The coast guard will get vessels for both offshore and inshore patrolling and also intends to […]
Pro-Tiger party wins one Sri Lanka council
August 9, 2009 (AFP) – A party that backs the defeated Tamil Tiger rebels won a council in elections near Sri Lanka’s former war zone, results showed Sunday, in a sign that separatists still attract popular support.Widespread international concern was voiced over the number of civilians killed during the fighting, while aid groups now fear […]
‘s former war zone
August 8, 2009 (AFP) – Voting for two local councils began Saturday near Sri Lanka’s former war zone, officials said, as independent media was denied access to the area. The voting is seen as a test of popularity of President Mahinda Rajapakse after his crushing victory over the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels. Election officials said […]
Sri Lanka grilling new Tiger leader: reports
August 7, 2009 (AFP) – The new head of the defeated Tamil Tiger separatist group was being interrogated in Sri Lanka Thursday, having been flown here following his capture in Thailand, reports said. Selvarasa Pathmanathan, better known as K.P., was brought back to Sri Lanka on Thursday and was being questioned at an undisclosed location, […]
Sri Lanka slammed by media watchdog over polls media blackout
August 6, 2009 (AFP) – Global press freedom group Reporters Without Borders voiced outrage Thursday over Sri Lanka’s ban on independent media covering local polls just outside the island’s former war zone.The government claimed victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels in May after killing the top leadership of the separatist movement which had been fighting […]
Sri Lanka arrests 32 migrants heading for New Zealand
August 6, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan police arrested 32 men who were illegally trying to leave for New Zealand by boat, an official said Thursday.The men were taken into custody late Wednesday on the island’s western coast of Seeduwa from where they planned to set off for New Zealand in a fishing trawler, senior […]
‘ deaths
August 4, 2009 (AFP) – The New York-based group Human Rights Watch on Tuesday pressed for an international probe into the killings in Sri Lanka of 17 local employees of a French charity three years ago.HRW marked the anniversary of the execution-style murders of the Action Against Hunger (ACF) workers in Sri Lanka’s northeastern town […]
Sri Lanka film in Venice festival line-up
July 30, 2009 (LBO) – “Ahasin Wetei” (Between two worlds), a film by Sri Lankan film maker Vimukthi Jayasundara will be among those competing for the Golden Lion award at this year’s Venice film festival, AFP quoted organisers as saying Thursday.Among the competitors is Michael Moore’s film on the financial crisis and the directorial debut […]
Sri Lanka govt plans training for former combatants
July 30, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka plans to offer education and vocational training for about 20,000 former Tamil Tiger rebels, including child soldiers and operatives trained as suicide bombers, an official said Thursday.Nearly 300,000 people who were displaced by the ethnic conflict are still held in camps under military guard. The government insists that […]