Category: Politics
Tamils march in Paris to protest Sri Lankan offensive
PARIS, February 28, 2009 (AFP) – Thousands of Tamils marched in Paris on Saturday to denounce what they termed the Sri Lankan government’s genocide of the island’s ethnic minority in its bid to wipe out Tamil Tiger rebels.Government forces have pushed the Tigers into a narrow piece of land and say they hope to completely […]
Sri Lanka rejects truce calls as Tigers resist
March 1, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka Sunday rejected fresh calls for a ceasefire with Tamil Tigers rebels as security forces hit stiff resistance in their efforts to secure final victory in the island’s ethnic conflict.Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona said any ceasefire would be unnecessary if the Tigers accepted international appeals to surrender. “When the […]
Sri Lanka troops enter last Tiger stronghold: military
February 28, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops have entered the last urban area still in the hands of Tamil Tiger guerrillas after heavy fighting, the defence ministry said on Saturday.Soldiers entered Puthukkudiriruppu on Friday despite heavy resistance from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the defence ministry said in a statement. Government forces […]
Human rights on decline in Sri Lanka: US
WASHINGTON, February 25, 2009 (AFP) – Human rights are on the decline in Sri Lanka with the government and Tamil Tiger rebels both committing violations as the three-decade war intensifies, the US State Department said Wednesday. In an annual global report, the State Department also said that media freedom was deteriorating on the island with […]
Sri Lanka says 11 rebels killed in battle
February 26, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops have killed at least 11 Tamil Tiger rebels in the battle for the last urban area still in the hands of the guerrillas, the defence ministry said Thursday.The deaths occurred Wednesday when soldiers pushed toward Puthukkudiriruppu, a town on a narrow strip of land in the northeast […]
Sri Lankan Tamil editor arrested: police
February 26, 2009 (AFP) – A Tamil newspaper editor was arrested in Sri Lanka’s capital Thursday, police said, after colleagues and family members complained that he had been abducted while attending a funeral.Police spokesman Senior Superintendent Ranjith Gunasekara said N. Vidyatharan was taken in for questioning by the police crime division in connection with activities […]
Sri Lanka re-opens land route to Jaffna
February 25, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops has opened the main highway to the northern Jaffna peninsula for the first time in nearly two decades after wresting the route from rebel control, the military said Wednesday.Government troops operated a food convoy Tuesday along the A-9 highway that had been under rebel control since 1990, […]
Sri Lankan Tamil war protester sets himself ablaze
CHENNAI, February 25, 2009 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan Tamil committed suicide by setting himself on fire to protest civilian casualties in Colombo’s military offensive against the Tamil Tiger rebels, Indian police said Wednesday.The Sri Lankan army claims to have driven back the rebels into less than 75 square kilometres (28 square miles) of jungle […]
Sri Lanka probes origin of Tiger aircraft
February 24, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military said Tuesday it was trying to establish how the Tamil Tigers managed to buy light planes abroad, smuggle them onto the island and establish a rebel air force.According to the island’s defence ministry, the raid was the last air attack likely to be carried out by the […]
Sri Lanka troops advance on last Tiger hold-out: military
February 24, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan government troops were Tuesday advancing on the last urban area in the north of the island still in the hands of Tamil Tiger rebels, the military said.Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said soldiers were “on the fringes of Puthukkudirirppu,” a small town on a narrow strip of land in the […]
Sri Lanka Tiger chief unlikely to surrender: defence chief
February 24, 2009 (AFP) – The elusive leader of Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels is not expected to surrender despite losing his de facto state and may instead try to flee by boat, the country’s top defence official said Tuesday. Tiger chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, 54, could use a human smuggling ring to escape by boat, […]
Sixth Indian Tamil self-immolates over Sri Lanka war
CHENNAI, February 22, 2009 (AFP) – An ethnic Tamil activist committed suicide by setting himself on fire in protest against the war in Sri Lanka, Indian police said on Sunday. Siva Prakasam, 55, set himself ablaze during an anti-war rally on Saturday in Chennai, capital of the southern state of Tamil Nadu, a police spokesman […]