Category: Politics

Jan 29, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is installing a hi-tech radar capable of detecting small boats of the type used by the Sea Tiger rebels as well as small aircraft, a media report said. The high-frequency (HF) surface wave radar, developed at a cost of 39 million Canadian dollars by Ottawa defence scientists and […]

Jan 29, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government said Tuesday its soldiers had advanced into territory held by the Tamil Tigers in the north of the island, with the death toll from two days of fighting at 69.Troops smashed 16 guerrilla bunkers in the district of Mannar on Tuesday after killing at least 22 rebels, […]

Jan 26, 2008 (AFP) – The bullet-riddled bodies of 16 men found dumped in shallow graves in a government-controlled area in Sri Lanka were hard to identify because they were badly decomposed, a hospital official said. A separate government probe found 430 civilians had been killed during a five-month period up to February 2007, though […]

Jan 26, 2008 (LBO) – Media rights bodies have expressed outrage after a journalist attached to a state-run television channel was ambushed on his way home and knifed by two attackers. Lal Mawalage of the Rupavahini television channel had spoken live on behalf of employees when labour minister Mervyn de Silva stormed the newsroom with […]

Jan 26, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s defence secretary has called for a ban on the Tamil Tigers and said the ongoing military campaign was aimed at destroying the rebels’ top leaders, a report said Saturday.Rajapakse, who is President Mahinda Rajapakse’s younger brother, said the military had started a campaign to capture rebel-held areas in […]

WASHINGTON, Jan 25, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka said Friday it could not return to the negotiating table with the Tamil Tigers unless there was a guarantee from the rebels that they would not walk away from the talks. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) must also be prepared to compromise on its demand […]

LONDON, Jan 25, 2008 (AFP) – A former Sri Lankan Tamil guerrilla leader was jailed for nine months in Britain Friday after being found guilty of having false documents, the Home Office said.Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan, also known as Colonel Karuna, was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court in London after admitting the charge at a lower court […]

Jan 25, 2008 (LBO) –Sri Lanka’s elections department announced Friday plans to hold local council polls in the island’s eastern region on March 10, the first time in 14 years that voters in the troubled area will be able to vote. Submission of nominations for municipal and urban council polls in the eastern province was […]

Jan 24, 2008 (AFP) – A peace panel including ruling party politicians told Sri Lanka’s president to devolve more power to minority Tamils as a first step to resolving the island’s long-running ethnic war, officials said Thursday.The panel, made up of President Mahinda Rajapakse’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party lawmakers and their allies, has been mulling […]

Jan 24, 2008 (AFP) – The bodies of at least 16 people have been found in a mass grave in a government-controlled area of north-central Sri Lanka, police said Thursday.The decomposed bodies were found by local residents in the district of Anuradhapura, 206 kilometres (130 miles) north of Colombo, police said. “Investigations have now begun […]

Jan 23, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka air force jets have bombed a key jungle base in the northern Tamil Tiger stronghold of Kilinochchi Thursday, which the defence ministry said was frequented by the guerrilla leadership. . The defence ministry said the base identified as ‘X-ray’ base was raided at 11.15 am was a ‘hub’ […]

Jan 21, 2008 (AFP) – Fierce fighting erupted in northern Sri Lanka Monday as government forces mounted a fresh push into territory held by Tiger rebels, with the official death toll from the new clashes at more than 50. At least 46 civilians have been killed in rebel attacks since the start of January, according […]