Category: Politics
Sri Lankans urged to fight for right to information
July 15, 2009 (LBO) – An Indian political activist has urged Sri Lankans to be more demanding of their right to information, saying that was how the public in India won greater access to information and more government accountability. “The right to information campaign started with a peasant movement asking for the Panchayati (village assembly) […]
‘s new army chief vows to re-focus military
July 15, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s new army chief took up his post Wednesday vowing to “re-motivate” his 200,000-strong force and build a peacetime military following the crushing of Tamil Tiger rebels.Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, 50, said his first priority would be the military’s new role in supporting a massive reconstruction effort in areas […]
Sri Lanka cancels US$200mn in arms deals
July 15, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has cancelled orders for 200 million US dollars of military hardware and ammunition from China, after a 30-year war with Tamil Tiger separatists ended, a top official said.Fonseka said soldiers in areas like northern Jaffna found it difficult to take leave at the current strength. “If we want […]
‘s next outsourcing boom: comedy
MUMBAI, July 13, 2009 (AFP) – In 1979, Don Ward opened a small club in London to provide a stage for the best of Britain’s undiscovered comic talent.After 30 successful years, he now wants to do the same in India. Ward is taking The Comedy Store out of Britain for the first time, opening a […]
Sri Lankan moderate Tamil party asks freedom for 300,000 war-hit civilians
July 12, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s main moderate Tamil political group Sunday accused the government of holding some 300,000 war-displaced civilians in “open prisons” and demanded their immediate release. The New York-based Human Rights Watch said the squalid camps, which are ringed with barbed wire, were a “national disgrace” and violated international law. The […]
Sri Lanka creates new top military posts: official
July 12, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Sunday named its first ever chief of defence staff and created the post of national security adviser to the president as part of an overhaul of the military.President Mahinda Rajapakse’s office said army chief General Sarath Fonseka would take over as Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) from […]
‘s former combatants undergo retraining
WELIKANDA (AFP) – They begin each day saluting the national flag of the country they had vowed to defeat or die trying.Gone are the cyanide capsules that, like all Tamil Tiger rebels, they had worn around their necks for use if captured by the Sri Lankan military. In their place hang religious symbols — a […]
” operations
July 9, 2009 (AFP) – The International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday it had been ordered by Sri Lanka to scale down relief operations in the island where it has been helping civilian war victims. As a result, the ICRC said it was withdrawing expatriate staff from the battle-scarred northeast which was the […]
Sri Lanka tells foreign aid agencies to scale down
July 9, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has directed all international relief agencies, including the Red Cross, to scale down operations following the defeat of the Tamil Tiger rebels, the human rights minister said Thursday.Mahinda Samarasinghe said the directive was not solely aimed at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) which had first […]
” by Tigers to inflate Sri Lanka tolls
July 8, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan doctors arrested for allegedly spreading rebel propaganda before the defeat of the Tamil Tigers told reporters here Wednesday that they were pressured to inflate death tolls. A five-member team of doctors who worked inside the shrinking rebel-held territory during the final stages of the war have been in […]
Sri Lanka troops record first fatality after ending war
July 5, 2009 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan soldier was shot dead by a Tamil rebel in the island’s east, the first military fatality after the crushing of the guerrilla leadership in May, the army said on Sunday.A Tiger rebel grabbed the gun of a soldier and opened fire as he tried to search a […]
Sri Lanka courts politicised, says ICG
July 01, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government must reform the country’s judicial system urgently if the military defeat of the Tamil Tigers is to lead to a lasting peace, an international non-governmental advocacy body has said. The Sri Lankan judiciary is not working in a fair and impartial way that secures justice and […]