Category: Politics
Sri Lanka arrests astrologer for gloomy predictions
June 26, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan police say they have arrested an astrologer after he predicted serious political and economic problems for the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse.Chandrasiri Bandara, who writes an astrology column for a pro-opposition weekly, was taken in on Thursday, police spokesman Ranjith Gunasekara said. “The CID (Criminal Investigations Department) is […]
Sri Lanka hosts meet to thwart terrorist nuclear ambitions
June 24, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is hosting a South Asia workshop organised with the United States to prevent terrorist groups from acquiring nuclear weapons or trafficking in nuclear materials, the foreign ministry said.The workshop, on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1540 dealing with non-state actors and weapons of mass destruction (WMD), […]
Sri Lanka steps up search for Tiger remnants: report
June 21, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka is pouring more troops into former rebel-held areas in the east of the island to hunt down remnants of the Tamil Tigers following their defeat in the north, a state-run weekly said Sunday.The Tigers have admitted that they lost their top leader Velupillai Prabhakaran in a final battle […]
Sri Lanka should reach out to Tamil: US envoy nominee
WASHINGTON, June 16, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka needs to reach out to its Tamil minority and improve conditions for hundreds of thousands of displaced after defeating Tiger rebels, the nominee to be the next US ambassador said Tuesday. Patricia Butenis, testifying in a Senate confirmation hearing, said she would also press Sri Lanka to […]
” struggle for separate state
June 16, 2009 (AFP) – The few surviving leaders of Sri Lanka’s defeated Tamil Tigers announced Tuesday they were reorganising the rebel movement and forming a “transnational government.” The rebel group’s international relations chief, Selvarasa Pathmanathan, said in a recorded message that the organisation would continue to pursue its aim of a separate Tamil state […]
Sri Lanka military says Tiger sub found
June 15, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops have recovered the first submarine believed to have been used by the defeated Tamil Tiger rebels, the military said Monday.Troops found the 24-foot (7.2-metre) submersible on the coast of the northeastern district of Mullaittivu, where the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were defeated last month, ending […]
Japan urges Sri Lanka to engage international community
June 11, 2009 (AFP) – Japan on Thursday urged Sri Lanka to develop closer ties with the international community as Colombo tries to rebuild the war-battered north of the island after decades of bloody ethnic conflict.Akashi said international opinion was divided on the way the conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ended, […]
Sri Lanka detains Canadian MP: officials
June 10, 2009 (AFP) – A Canadian MP was detained on arrival at Sri Lanka’s international airport on Wednesday and could be deported for allegedly having supported the Tamil Tiger rebels, officials said.Bob Rae, a Liberal member of parliament and outspoken critic of the Sri Lankan military’s offensive against the rebels, was stopped at Bandaranaike […]
Sri Lanka extends anti-terror laws despite defeat of Tigers
June 9, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government on Tuesday extended tough anti-terror laws, arguing that remnants of the defeated Tamil Tiger rebels could still try to stage a comeback.Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake told parliament that the government wanted to extend the state of emergency by a month despite last month’s defeat of the Liberation […]
Sri Lanka turns back Tamil aid ship
June 8, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan authorities Monday ordered a foreign-owned ship carrying aid for Tamil civilians to leave the island without unloading its cargo.The Syrian-registered ship, Captain Ali, was seized last week, and the Sri Lankan defence ministry said the cargo of food and other supplies had been destined for the now defeated […]
Sri Lanka grants amnesty to military deserters
June 7, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president on Sunday marked a key Buddhist celebration by granting a pardon to 585 jailed military deserters, officials said. In 2003, the government moved to legally discharge from the security forces 51,000 deserters. Tens of thousands were killed in Sri Lanka’s decades-old Tamil separatist conflict. The pardon applied […]
Sri Lankan FM denies 20,000 Tamils killed in final onslaught: report
LONDON, June 6, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama has denied claims that more than 20,000 Tamil civilians were killed during the government’s final onslaught against rebels, a report said Saturday. Bogollagama told The Times that the newspaper was wrong to report last week that so many civilians had died in the […]