Category: Politics

Jan 16, 2008 (AFP) – Nordic peace monitors pulled out of Sri Lanka on Wednesday following the collapse of a ceasefire, and warned that the war between the island’s government and Tamil rebels cannot be won by either side.The Norwegian-led Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission (SLMM) was to shut down its operations late Wednesday, after Colombo […]

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 16, 2008 (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned the “indiscriminate attacks” which left dozens of people dead or injured in southern Sri Lanka and urged the rival sides to strive for a peaceful negotiated settlement. “The Secretary General strongly condemns the indiscriminate attacks in the southeast of Sri Lanka today […]

Jan 17, 2007 (LBO) — Sri Lanka Air Force jets have bombed a meeting place of Tiger leaders in the northern guerilla stronghold of Kilinochchi Thursday, the military said. The defence ministry said the target was a gathering of “senior leaders’ at Jayapoor near Kilinochchi at 09.30 am. Yesterday the guerillas blasted a bus and […]

Jan 16, 2007 (LBO) — A public passenger bus has been caught in a blast Wednesday morning in Sri Lanka’s Moneragala district, the defence ministry said as a ceasefire with the Tamil Tigers officially drew to a close.A ceasefire with the Tamil Tigers struck in 2002 officially ends today after the Sri Lanka gave notice […]

Jan 16, 2008 (AFP) – Twenty people were killed and many others injured Wednesday in a suspected Tamil Tiger bomb attack on a crowded bus in southwest Sri Lanka, as a ceasefire with the Tigers officially drew to a close, officials said.“At least 20 people have been killed and several are injured.It was a state-run […]

Jan 16, 2007 (LBO) – A roadside bomb killed 26 people traveling in a bus in southeastern Sri Lanka while three soldiers were injured from a second bomb targeting a military vehicle Wednesday as a truce with Tamil Tigers officially ended, police said Civilians wounded in the attack on the bus which was packed with […]

Jan 16, 2008 (LBO) – Tamil Tiger attacks which killed at least 28 civilians in south-eastern Sri Lanka Wednesday were condemned by the government as well as the United States. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in a statement, condemned the attacks and called on the people to be vigilant “in the face of provocation by […]

Jan 15, 2008 (LBO) – The World Bank is giving funds to Sri Lankan civil society organizations for projects that will focus on bringing about a sustainable peace. The bank said in a statement its Civil Society Fund, formerly the Small Grants Program, plans to award seven grants of up to $5,000 (about Rs. 500,000) […]

COLOMBO, Jan 14, 2008 (AFP) – A Japanese peace envoy began a second day of talks with Sri Lankan leaders Monday as the world community stepped up pressure over Colombo’s decision to abandon a truce with the Tamil Tiger rebels. The talks began as government warplanes bombed suspected rebel intelligence hideouts and fighting raged in […]

Jan 14, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government Monday told a visiting Japanese peace envoy that there was no immediate need to proscribe the Tamil Tigers. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement the government was going ahead with its plans to present peace proposals despite its withdrawal from a ceasefire with […]

Jan 13, 2008 (AFP) – Japan’s peace envoy opened talks in Sri Lanka on Sunday, hinting international donors may hold back much-needed foreign aid if the island’s decades-long ethnic conflict escalates, officials said. Yasushi Akashi, who arrived in Sri Lanka for three days of crucial talks on Sunday, met the Marxist JVP, the main left […]

Jan 12, 2008 (AFP) – Intense fighting across Sri Lanka’s embattled northern district have left at least 39 rebels and soldiers dead, the military said Saturday, ahead of a planned visit by a Japanese peace envoy.Japan, the island’s biggest aid donor, has voiced deep concern about the Colombo government’s decision last week to end its […]