Category: Politics
Sri Lanka captures rebel base: military
Sri Lankan troops have captured a Tamil Tiger base in the island’s north after three days of heavy fighting which left seven guerrillas and one government soldier dead, the defence ministry said Friday.It said ground troops captured “Munagam Base,” situated six kilometers (four miles) north of the frontlines in the Weli Oya region, on Thursday. […]
Latest Sri Lanka journalist killing outrageous: rights body
May 30, 2008 (LBO) – An international media rights body said it was outraged by the hacking to death of a Sri Lankan television journalist in the northern Jaffna peninsular along with a friend. “Caught in the crossfire between two armed forces, journalists in the Jaffna peninsula are constantly the targets of threats, kidnappings and […]
Sri Lankan media groups slam govt attempt to muzzle journalists
May 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan journalists’ unions and media rights groups Wednesday condemned government attempts to prevent those in the state media from criticising the government. Five media groups in a letter to defence ministry secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa deplored comments by him and another senior government official that journalists working in the state […]
Journalist hacked to death in Sri Lanka: rights group
May 29, 2008 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan journalist working in the war-torn northern region and his friend have been hacked to death, a media rights group said Thursday.P. Devakumar, 36, a correspondent for the privately-run Sirasa television, was murdered on Wednesday, the influential Free Media Movement (FMM) said. Devakumar is the ninth media worker […]
Sri Lanka business chamber condemns assault on media
May 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s main business chamber Wednesday condemned recent attacks on journalists and called on the government to bring the culprits to book instead of merely promising investigations. “The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce condemns these crude attempts at violating press freedom and implores that democratic principles relating to responsible coverage by […]
Sri Lankan president vows non-stop war against Tamil Tigers
May 27, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president vowed Tuesday to press on with a military campaign to crush Tamil Tiger rebels, a day after guerrillas set off a bomb inside a train killing nine and wounding 84 people.“I will not stop till terrorism is defeated,” President Mahinda Rajapakse told journalists during a meeting at […]
Sri Lanka Tamil Tiger fund raising revealed in Canada
May 27, 2008 (LBO) – A Canadian court have released documents seized from Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger sympathisers that provide more evidence of rebel fund raising efforts. He said he was “expecting a huge sum” of money and that Tamil activists should “act accordingly,” says the document, written by the Tamil Tigers International Coordination Centre […]
Sri Lanka train blast near capital
May 26, 2008 (LBO) – A blast ripped through a train in a suburb of Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo during the evening rush hour, police said. Updated For updates on this story go to www.lbo.lk front page or www. For updates in Sinhala go to www.vimasuma.com Police spokesman Ranjith Gunesekera said a number of passengers […]
Seven dead, scores hurt in Sri Lanka train bombing: military
May 26, 2008 (AFP) – At least seven people were killed and scores more wounded Monday in the bombing of a packed commuter train in the suburbs of the Sri Lankan capital by suspected Tamil rebels, officials said.The island’s military spokesman, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, said seven people, including a pregnant woman, were killed and another […]
Sri Lanka train blast kills seven, scores injured
May 26, 2008 (LBO) – A blast ripped through a train in a suburb of Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo during the evening rush hour, killing at least seven and injuring 62, the security media centre said. Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said the blast went off near the Dehiwela station south of the capital. An official […]
Sri Lanka told by US to practice what it preaches
May 25, 2008 (LBO) – The United States has said Sri Lanka’s government must do more to stop abductions and “disappearances” and that having laws alone is not enough without ensuring actual protection of human rights. “Sri Lanka has the necessary institutional framework in place, but it needs to empower its institutions to carry out […]
” for peace, reconciliation: scholar
May 24, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should commemorate the 25th anniversary of the July 1983 riots and put forward its best offer to the Tamil people as part of a political offensive to end the war and find peace and reconciliation, a US scholar said. William Grassie, a senior Fulbright Fellow, said the commemoration […]